Tag Archives: coconut milk

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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Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce

I love coconut and I love peanut sauce, which is why this recipe first caught my eye. The recipe looked simple enough, with the bulk of the ingredients simply being whisked together into a sauce. And asparagus? Heck yeah–love that stuff too. After some tweaks and the addition of fresh green beans, here’s the recipe. If you like peanut sauce, chances are you’ll like this! If not, I’d say your chances are . . . well, slim to none.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

For the sauce:

½ cup peanut butter
1 14.5 oz can coconut milk
1 TBS Thai red curry paste
1 TBS lime juice
1 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS fish sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 TBS honey (to taste)
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch cinnamon
1-2 tsp sriracha

For the chicken:

1 TBS coconut or vegetable oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 bunch asparagus
½ lb green beans
Optional garnishes: peanuts, sriracha, unsweetened coconut flakes, cilantro, green onions, etc.

At this point, it looks like too many ingredients for this to be anything akin to ‘easy.’ But don’t worry! We’re just going to pour and sprinkle and drump, and most of those ingredients can go straight back into the pantry.

That’s right–drump. I have decided that what started as a typo is now going to become a permanent part of my vocabulary. And I haven’t quite nailed down the technical definition, so I’m open to suggestions before I contact my friend Merriam Webster.

And by the way, what kind of a first name is “Merriam”? Is it a typo for “Miriam” that turned into a name in the same way that ‘dump’ turned into ‘drump’? Maybe Merriam and I are more connected than I ever imagined.

Oh, the questions I have on a daily basis.

So: whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce.

You can adjust the flavors to your liking—add more sriracha for spice, more honey for sweetness, more lime juice for acidity, etc.

It’s hard to judge what it may or may not need if you taste it now (like I did), but if you taste it later once it’s hot and in the pot, your taste buds will be able to direct you more clearly.

If the asparagus stalks are thick, halve them lengthwise:

If they’re thin, you can leave them be. While you’re at it, snap off the tough ends. Cut the asparagus and green beans into 2-inch lengths on the diagonal.

Chop the onion, mince the garlic . . .

. . . and cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. When hot, add the onion and garlic.

Cook until the onion is softened, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken to the pot, and cook for about 8 minutes, until golden.

That chicken sure is a disturbing shade of mauve at this point. But that will soon be rectified, thanks to the discovery of fire made long, long ago by a hairy man named Uggl. Or Oogf. Or maybe it was a hairy woman–the hair makes things hard to distinguish, sort of thing.

Not that I was looking . . . and not that I was even there. Anyway.

Add the sauce to the pot . . .

. . . lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for about 8 minutes.

Thank you, Uggl. Your discovery sure is coming in handy today.

Stir in the green beans and asparagus . . .

(don’t be like me and add WAY too many green beans) . . . and cook for 5 or so minutes or until crisp-tender.

If the sauce seems too thick at this point, thin it out with more coconut milk or water. Also, don’t forget to taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Everyone is different. No two mouths are not on fire.

(Strongbad, anyone?)

All done!

Serve over rice, with as few or as many of the garnishes as you please.

Personally, I’m all about the extra peanuts and the coconut flakes, though I didn’t have the patience to toast mine.

On the downside, my veggies were kind of floppy the following day when I reheated the curry–so leave them on the crisp side of crisp-tender that first night if you know it’s going to become part of your leftovers stash.

But overall–très goodé!

Click here for printer-friendly version: Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce