Chicken Curry

(This recipe is very easy, but grab a helper to make it quickly!)

This multicultural curry features chickens from the Americas, Europe, and Asia, collaborating beautifully on African soil...Or not!  Actually, the chicken curry I ate annually or biannually in my childhood often featured not chicken, but Kenyan rabbits--this was revealed to me well into my teen years.  I was indignant:  how could my beloved "chicken" curry deceive me so?!

This curry's uniqueness is not in the nationality of the ingredients nor the type of meat used.  The mode of cooking is neither difficult nor unusual.  Rather, the act of serving this dish and assembling it on one's plate introduces the curry's beauty; less-adventurous souls have experienced some level of alarm at this point in the meal, but delight has yet grown on them.  One taste is sweet, while the next is savory; another bite is tangy, and the peanuts happily crunch!  The curry is mild but embodies several lovely flavors throughout the meal.

Enjoy this curry on rice, and please don't forsake the diverse condiments listed!  You will experience the joy of chicken curry in a new and beautiful way.  I hope to touch on my findings on the history of this style of curry in another post.  There really is a story.

"Chicken Curry," also called "The Snow on Kilimanjaro"

(serves 4; one chicken makes a double recipe-- 
this observation from my mama has helped me plan in countries where boneless, skinless, and/or homogeneous chicken parts don't exist)

-3 Tbsp butter (oil may be substituted to be dairy free)
-1/4 c. minced onion
-1-2 tsp curry powder (I use 2 tsp of mild curry, less if it's hot)
  (curry powder often contains gluten if not labeled "gluten free")
-3 Tbsp flour (omit flour to be gluten free; add cornstarch+cold water later)
-3/4 tsp salt (less if using salty chicken broth; adjust to taste)
-3/4 tsp sugar
-2 cups diced cooked chicken
-1/2 tsp lemon juice
-1/8 tsp ground ginger
-1 cup milk
-1 cup chicken broth or bouillon*
-3-4 cups cooked rice (or 1 cup raw rice boiled)

Melt butter over low heat in heavy saucepan.  Saute onion and curry in butter. Blend in flour and seasonings. (If cooking gluten free, skip flour)  Cook over low heat until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat.  Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk.  Stir constantly and bring to a boil.  (To be gluten free, mix 1/2 cup cool water and 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch; add smooth mixture to the pot and stir until thickened)  Boil 1 minute.  Add chicken and lemon juice. Heat.

Spoon curry over rice on your plate.  Sprinkle many or all of the following condiments over top the curry and combine.  Enjoy!

Condiments--grab a friend to chop as you cook!
-peanuts
-flaked coconut
-diced bananas
-diced tomatoes
-raisins
-pineapple tidbits
-diced green bell pepper
-diced onions
-chopped boiled egg
-mango chutney  (can be found in many Indian supermarkets)

For a true feast, serve all of the condiments.  I tend to stick with 6 or 7, the things I usually have on hand.  For crying out loud, try to include peanuts, raisins, bananas, pineapple, tomatoes, and coconut.  I'm convinced these are essential to the curry's happiness :)



*Make your own broth while cooking your chicken!  It's so easy.

1. Remove skin from chicken pieces (bone-in) and place in a large pot. A whole chicken works well, or a pack of chicken breasts, leg quarters, etc. 
2. Toss in two crushed garlic cloves, a chopped onion, and two sliced carrots.  The vegetables aren't necessary, but they add a bit of extra flavor to the broth, so why not?  (you will strain them out later, so pretty chopping isn't necessary, either--just enough to cook out some flavor) 
3. Pour water into the pot until it just covers the chicken.  Add some salt if you like, 1/2 teaspoon or so (adjust to taste after; I'm sorry for not having a good measurement for you!  I can't stand too-salty food, and sodium varies so much in store-bought broth,  I cautiously add and adjust salt in the curry).
4.  Bring to a boil and lower the heat so it's at a low simmer.  Cover and simmer for one hour, or until the chicken is cooked but not dry.  (Cut deep into the chicken to be sure it's no longer pink.)
5. Remove the chicken, and allow the covered pot to continue simmering.  When chicken has cooled enough, pull all the meat off, and toss the bones back into the pot.  
6. Simmer broth and bones for one more hour.  Strain and keep the liquid.  

Use your broth in curry, soup**, whatever!  To remove fat, refrigerate broth for several hours and scrape the solidified fat off the top.  Discard.

**Other seasonings may be added when beginning to cook the broth, but not for use in this curry!  If the broth is to be used for soup, you may add bay leaves, thyme, black pepper...be creative, but keep the end in sight so as not to clash flavors (yes, I've been too creative at times).