Tag Archives: chilies

Indian-Style Chicken Curry with Chickpeas and Raisins

As I mentioned on Tuesday, this recipe came from my friend Beth, after I tried her leftovers at Bible study one night and demanded that she share immediately how to make it. She had gotten the recipe from her friend Susan, who in turn adapted it from Cook’s Illustrated “The Best Chicken Recipes.” I knew there was a genius behind it the moment I tasted it.

This curry . . . what shall I say about this curry. “Delicious” feels like an understatement when this rich, tomatoe-y sauce with the perfect bursts of golden raisins is concerned.

Please make it.

You know how addicted I am to making new recipes and trying new things, so hopefully this will mean something to you: since October, I’ve made this curry 1) for ourselves, 2) for ourselves, 3) for Heidi and Mike, 4) for our neighbor, and 5) for our friends Julie and Zane. I can’t get enough of it.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

2 TBS sweet or mild curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
4 TBS vegetable oil
2 onions
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves garlic
1 TBS minced or grated ginger
1 serrano chili
1 TBS tomato paste
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 medium)
1 cup raisins (regular and golden, mixed)
1/3 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
2 TBS chopped cilantro

There’s a lot going on in this ingredients picture–but don’t freak out! Stay calm, stay calm–if you lose your focus now, you’re going to miss out on a truly incredible dish.

In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, toast the curry powder and garam masala for 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid burning them.

Set the spices aside in a bowl.

Finely dice the onions. Heat the 3 TBS of the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions and 1/4 tsp of salt.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. If the onions seem to be browning too quickly, turn down the heat. If you have time, cook the onions for longer and on lower heat. The more they caramelize, the more sweet depth they’ll give to the curry.

In the meantime, mince the garlic and grate the ginger, and de-seed and mince the chili (removing the seeds and membrane). Or leave the seeds in if heat doesn’t scare you.

Going, going . . .

gone!

When the onions are caramelized (about like this:)

add the garlic, ginger, chili, toasted spices, and tomato paste.

Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant, then add the chicken broth . . .

. . . and crushed tomatoes too (not pictured), stirring and scraping up any brown bits.

Quickly rinse the chickpeas from that nasty liquid they have in the can with ’em, and add them along with the chicken and raisins to the pot, submerging the meat.

Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and turn down the heat to medium low.

Simmer 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is just done (160-165 in the thickest part of the chicken breast). In the meantime, chop up some good ole cilantro:

Move the chicken on to a cutting board, and using a fork and knife (it’s hot!), dice it up.

If it’s still a little raw inside, no biggie–it will finish off in the sauce momentarily.

Return the meat to the pot along with the cream or coconut milk . . .

. . . and heat through (about 2 minutes on medium high). Stir in the minced cilantro:

And we’re down to the final step! Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Serve over rice or spiced couscous!

I’m racking my brain to try and turn up ways of convincing everyone I know to make this. Why? Because I love you, and I want the best for your taste buds.

Anyway, hopefully the pictures will nudge you in the right direction. I can only hope.

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Chile con Queso

I made this Chile con Queso recipe (courtesy of Ree) for the first time for our yearly New Years party back in the olden days (2009), and a double batch was consumed by the dozen people in attendance before I could say “Great Scot!”

It’s delicious. It uses Velveeta. It’s not the kind of food I normally make . . . but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be broken out for parties. Especially now that it’s football season–though our viewing of choice on the evening of the Velveeta was Ken Burn’s new documentary about Prohibition.

And . . . it is still football season, right? I drafted this post at least a month ago, and now I’m feeling quite uncertain about it. The world of American sports–it’s so confusing.

Anyway, I must say that there’s something so Midwestern about Chile con Queso. It just seems like one of those appetizers that every cook from Illinois to Indiana to Wisconsin to Ohio probably has in her arsenal. And being a native Midwestern woman, I feel like making this is somehow connecting me to the countless other women who use Velveeta in their homestyle cookin’, and who don’t regret a single second of it.

As I mentioned yesterday, our Bible study group meets at our house on an alternating basis this year, and I’m using this as the opportunity to make all the less-healthy foods that my little heart desires. Because once it’s spread into small portions, no one gets the brunt of the fat, but everyone gets the pleasure of the flavors.

 Amen? Amen!

Ingredients

(Serves 12)

32 oz Velveeta Cheese Loaf
1 lb hot sausage (like Jimmy Dean’s)
1 large onion
1-10 oz can Rotel (diced tomatoes with chilies)
1-7 oz can chopped green chilies
1-3 jalapeños, to taste
Chips, to serve

Mince the onion!

I like the chunks on the smallish side, so that no one gets too much onion in one bite later on.

And I’d like to take this moment to point out that this sausage expires on October 20th at exactly 11:00.

Not a minute earlier, and not a minute later, apparently. At 11:01, run for the hills!

Fry the sausage and onion together in a large nonstick skillet or pot over medium heat, breaking up the sausage into crumbles as it cooks.

If necessary, when the sausage is cooked, drain the excess fat.

I did not drain the excess fat, just for the record. I was feeling vreeerrry bad, and loving every second of the experience.

Cut the loaf of Velveeta into smallish cubes. I cut it directly on its packaging to save the trouble another dirty dish.

And does anyone else pronounce the word ‘trouble’ as ‘trooblay’ every so often? Just for kicks? No?

With the heat on medium low, add the Velveeta . . .

. . . Rotel . . .

. . . and green chilies to the onion/sausage mixture.

Stir it occasionally until the cheese is melted.

Mince the jalapeño/s.

I removed most of the seeds and membrane, but in restrospect I think I could have handled the full blast of the heat. Stir it into the Queso.

Transfer the Queso to a crock pot to keep it hot.

Ponder its creaminess–then experience its creaminess firsthand.

There must be some kind of melting magique that they inject into that Velveeta.

Serve with chips!

This really shoudn’t be this good . . . but it is.

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