Chicken Curry
An American version of the South Asian staple, from a 1980s Good Housekeeping cookbook.
"Curry" is a word that has different meanings depending on how it's used. The etomology of the word comes from use of the leaves of a curry tree, technically Bergera or Murraya Koenigii, tropical trees native to Asia. The fresh leaves are used to season Curry dishes in India to this day, however, modern interpretations of Curry very often no longer actually contain curry leaves.
"Curry" is also a word that refers to a whole genre of cooking. Curry dishes from the Indian sub-continent, Southeast Asia, Great Britain and the Caribbean generally consist of a tomato-based sauce, flavored with onions, ginger, garlic and chili peppers and a variety of spices, often including turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cardamom. All manner of vegetables and proteins will round out the dish, including and perhaps most commonly, chicken.
Outside of South Asia, Curry is often prepared without the tomato base and in a creamier sauce, sometimes called “Yellow Curry,” seasoned with a pre-made spice mixture known as Curry Powder. Curry Powder actually found its way to the western world when British soldiers were returning from conquests of colonial India in the 18th Century. Spice traders began blending various concoctions of granulated spices that invariably included turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, ginger, and cardamom.
There is a big difference between what we call Curry in the US and what the typical household in India might consider as Curry. I recall looking for houses in Texas with a realtor in the early 2000s, and it was very easy to determine a dwelling that had been previously inhabited by a family from India because their house reeked of Curry, and not in a good way. American palates prefer a much milder and far less odoriferous version of this delectable dish.
Curry Powder became popular among Americans in the 1950s and cookbooks of the era have many recipes for Chicken Curry as well as other dishes made with the bilious yellow spice blend, like Curry Eggs, Curry Soup, Curry Dip and Curry Rice. As with Curry found in India, Asia and the Caribbean, Chicken Curry carries a wide range of possibilities and preparation methodologies depending on regional customs and chefs' preferences. This particular recipe is an adaptation from a Good Housekeeping series of cookbooks, circa 1980. It perhaps best typifies what we consider as a good Curry Chicken dish in the US that would arguably be much too mild for the South Asian palate.
A Delicious and Fun Dish to Eat
Part of the fun of serving this dish family style is to present five or six topping on a Lazy Susan and let your guests dress their dish to their liking. Major Grey's Chutney is a more or less traditional European Curry accompaniments, but you can also use the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mango-Peach Chutney. As for the other toppings, there are no hard and fast rules for what is considered traditional in India. Much is left to regional preferences and product availability, but some of the more popular would be the five recommended in the original 1980s Good Housekeeping recipe (in addition to the Chutney): crushed peanuts, shredded coconut, golden raisins, chopped green onions and crumbled bacon.
But here is a list of ssome of the more common topping found on a typical Indian curry table; take your pick: chopped hard boiled eggs, toasted cashews, toasted slivered almonds, banana chips, crystallized ginger, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped fresh mint, lemon zest, avocado slices, crushed pineapple, fresh green or edamame peas, sliced apples, chopped chilies, dried apricots and crispy fried onions.
Like any Curry, this dish is meant to be served over rice, and a traditional accompaniment is this Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Indian Cucumber Salad.
Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1- 1/2 lb chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into 1" cubes
- 1/2 medium yellow onion (about a cup), finely diced
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup more for the slurry
- 1 tbsp curry powder (like Spice Islands)
- 2 cups chicken stock (like Swanson's or Kitchen Basics)
- 1- 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2-3 scallions (only the green stems), very thinly sliced
- 2-3 oz golden raisins (like, Sun-Maid)
- 2-3 strips cooked crispy bacon, finely chopped
- 2-3 oz shredded coconut (like, Baker's Angel Flake)
- 2-3 oz dry roasted peanuts (like Planter's lightly salted)
- Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Mango Peach Chutney
Instructions
- Prepare your condiments first. Pulse the peanuts in a small food processor several times so they are thoroughly chopped but not granulated. Place your condiments in small bowls or ramekins for service at the dinner table.
- Prepare the slurry by mixing the 1/3 cup of flour with about a cup of water and blend thoroughly. Set this aside for now.
- Over medium heat in a large skillet, melt the butter and then sauté the chicken until all the pink is gone, about 3 minutes, plus a couple of minutes more to ensure the pieces are thoroughly cooked through. Remove to a platter with a slotted spoon.
- Add the yellow onions, and sauté until they begin to brown and caramelize, 7-8 minutes.
- Add the 1/3 cup flour and the curry powder to the butter and onions, and blend well to make a roux. Cook for about a minute.
- Gradually add the chicken stock and blend well with the roux, then add the milk, stirring all the while. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Add a few tablespoons of the slurry to the sauce as it simmers and stir well to combine. As the sauce simmers, it will thicken. Keep doing this until you get your sauce to the desired consistency. Simmer the sauce for a full minute after adding the the last of the slurry, and stir constantly to keep it from sticking to the bottom of your skillet.
- Add the salt, ginger, honey, lemon juice and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine, then return the chicken to the pan, including any juices that have accumulated on the platter, and heat through for 3 minutes.
- Serve the Curry Chicken over Jasmine or Basmati Rice, and top with your choice of the condiments. Serve along side the Kitchen Tapestry recipe for Indian Cucumber Salad.
