Tag Archives: curry powder

Pulled Chicken

Good morning, lovely friends! Somehow, it’s Monday again. But that’s okay. We just came off a fabulous weekend with my sister Erica and her husband, I’m starting a yoga class tonight with my favorite teacher at Broadway Armory Park, I’m about to imbibe a steaming mug of mint tea, and I have exciting things to share with you this week–starting with this chicken.

What to say about this chicken?

It’s great. I made it on a whim. I was committed to bringing a dish to a women’s gathering at our church, and as I was browsing the incredible food blog that is Kayotic Kitchen, this chicken sandwich caught my eye. I’m so glad that Kay highlighted it in her Superbowl-friendly recipes post, because I might not have found it otherwise. It’s simple (not at all labor intensive, seriously), delicious, and I was asked for the recipe.

There’s no greater compliment than being asked for the recipe, in my book.

The sauce is richly complex, satisfying, the right amount of vinegary and sweet, and of course adjustable to each person’s individual taste. So make this for a party! It’s amazing.

I made a few changes–green pepper instead of red, ginger sauce for added sweetness, sriracha, more chicken (the ratio of sauce was a little high), and the results were delectable. I will now show you how it all went down!

 

Ingredients

(Serves 10-12)

7-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion
2 TBS butter
1 bell pepper (red or green)
6-8 garlic cloves
1 serrano or jalapeño chili, seeds and membrane removed
1 cup ketchup
3 TBS sriracha
1 1/2 cups water
3 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS ginger syrup
1/2 cup apple cider or white wine vinegar
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp curry powder
1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Mince the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and chili.

Heat the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for 15 minutes, until it’s starting to caramelize.

Add the bell pepper, garlic and chili and continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened.

Season those veggies with salt and pepper as they cook.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients (except for the chicken).

Give the sauce a taste if you want, though the flavors will change and deepen when it cooks.

If you don’t have a certain ingredient (like ginger sauce), don’t sweat it–this is a flexible sauce. A forgiving sauce. A sauce that’s begging to be personalized.

Add the ketchup mixture to the pot with the veggies and bring ‘er to a boil.

Add the chicken breasts, lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

Don’t overcook the chicken, or it will dry out! Overcooked chicken is the worst, man, especially once you understand the full potential of tender, perfectly cooked fowl flesh.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and set it aside to cool a little on a plate.

Turn the heat up to medium and simmer the sauce for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t burn to the bottom, until it’s very thick. Like dees!

And if you burn it a little (I certainly did–you can see the blackened chunks if you look closely), it only adds to the smokiness of the barbecue flavor.

Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Shred the chicken with two forks . . .

. . . and mix the chicken and sauce together.

My chicken went straight into this lovely plastic container, for transportation to our women’s ministry gathering.

Oh man, my mouth is watering.

Serve! On a plate, over rice, in a sandwich—you’ll love it.

The chicken is so amazingly tender and flavorful.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Pulled Chicken

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.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Indian-Style Chicken Curry with Chickpeas and Raisins