Chicken Curry
I honestly have no idea what type of curry it is. I think it might be chicken tikka masala, but my mom learned this recipe from her Indian friend when she was immigrating to America from Hong Kong. My mom makes this recipes to remind herself of her past, to soothe her loneliness. Of course I had to change some of the recipe, because she's pretty bad at cooking so.........
Equipment
- 2 Baking Sheets For baking the chicken
- 2 Baking Racks Optional for baking the chicken, works with or without the baking sheet.
Ingredients
Marinade
- ¾ C Plain Yogurt
- 1 Tbsp Ginger (Grated)
- 1 Tbsp Garlic (Grated, about 5 cloves)
- 12 Sprigs Cilantro (Chopped, Optional)
- 2.5 lb Chicken (1inch Cubes, Chicken Breast or Chicken Thighs work best)
- 2 Tbsp Oil (or Ghee)
- 1.5 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Sugar
- 1 Tsp Turmeric (Add more if needed/wanted)
- 1 Tsp Curry Powder (Add more if needed/wanted)
- 1 Tsp Cumin Powder (I usually just grind up ¾ Tsp of Cumin Seeds)
- 2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tsp Lemon Juice (Optional but will make the meat more tender, this can be substituted for Vinegar)
Curry Sauce
- 1.5 Large Onion (Thinly Sliced)
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Water (Add to release the fond when browning onions)
- 4-6 Medium Tomatoes (Sliced, Use more for a darker and redder sauce if wanted)
- 2 C Stock (I used Chicken, but add more stock for a thinner sauce if wanted)
- 1 Tsp Cumin
- ½ Tsp Turmeric
- 1.5 Tsp Curry Powder
- 1 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Inch Cube of Ginger
- 5 Cloves Garlic
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream or Coconut Milk (Reserve about 1-2 Tbsp for decorating, add more or less for a darker or light curry)
- 1-2 Bay Leaves (Optional)
Tempered Spices
- 1 Tsp Black Pepper (Optional)
- 1 Tbsp Cumin (Grounded or Whole Seeds)
- ¼ C Ghee or Oil (4 Tbsp)
Instructions
- Mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Omit the Cilantro if wanted. Cover and let it marinade in the fridge, preferably overnight but 2 hours works as well.
- In a pot over medium high heat, mix together the onion, salt, and oil. Stir fry until the onions have fully caramelized, 10-15 minutes. If there is fond or what seems to be burnt bits at the bottom, add in the 1 tbsp of water and stir vigorously to release the fond and infuse the intense onion flavors back into the onions. Fond is good for flavor.
- Using a blender or an immersion stick blender, blend together the rest of the ingredients for the curry sauce together until it becomes a smooth sauce, and set it to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF, evenly spread out the marinated chicken in a baking sheet (baking rack is optional) and bake for 8-10 minutes. After the chicken has finished baking, add it to the curry sauce and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
- To temper the spices, heat up ghee or oil in a small pot until wisps of smoke appear and pour the hot oil into a heat safe dish with the black pepper and cumin. It will bubble and fizz, but allow the mixture to do so for about 5 minutes, and pour ¾ of the mixture into the curry and mix. Use the residual as decoration.
Notes
If you don't like cilantro, just omit it.
Adjust the spices, ingredients, and flavorings to accommodate for one's own tastes.
As a fair warning, I don't often use measurements when I cook this recipe. It is mostly about intuition and what one likes, so adjust things if you want. The measurements above are just a framework!
The acid from Yogurt or additional ingredients such as Lemon Juice or Vinegar will help break down the proteins in the chicken. This means that the chicken will be extra tender
The longer the chicken mixture marinates, the more tender and flavorful the chicken will be. I prefer to marinate it overnight or even a whole day, but 2 hours works as well. Do not marinate it more than 30 hours though, as the acid may break down the chicken too much and make it become mush.
If there is fond or what seems to be burnt bits at the bottom, add in the 1 tbsp of water and stir vigorously to release the fond and infuse the intense onion flavors back into the onions. Fond is good for flavor. You can use chicken stock as well or some sort of alcohol like sake or cooking wine in lieu of water.
The more tomatoes added, the darker and redder the color of the curry will be.
Coconut milk instead of heavy cream works well!
Simmering the sauce after it has been blended will bring all of the flavors together and mellow out the sharpness of the tomatoes.
Because chicken has a high moisture content, baking the chicken before putting it in the curry will prevent the curry from becoming too watery.
When baking the chicken, baking it on an oven rack is optional. Spread out the chicken evenly when baking so that they don’t clump together and retain the excess moisture
You don’t necessarily have to add the baked chicken into the curry sauce and simmer it. You can just put it on the side and pour the curry sauce over it.
Tempering the spices will bring out the flavorful and aromatic oils of the spices, which makes the spices’ flavor more pronounced. The traditional method of tempering is to add the spices into hot oil, but I prefer to add hot oil to the spices instead to prevent the spices from burning.
Drizzle tempered spice oil and heavy cream over the curry and wipe around the surface with a toothpick or chopstick to make pretty patterns.
Adjust the color and thickness of the curry by adding more heavy cream.