Chicken Curry in a hurry!

"What's for dinner?" + "Chicken Curry." = Smiles

I found this recipe in one of Mark Bittman's books. He writes "The Minimalist", a column for the New York Times. As the column title implies, he pares a recipe down to the bare bones. That's especially nice when dinner's gotta be done now! Mr. Bittman cooks this dish in one skillet, a really big skillet, and you can find a really good visual demonstration of how to do that here. My pan isn't that big and I like to cook the onions low and slow, so I mess with the recipe. For instance, today I used chicken that I had cooked the previous day. But however you do it, the end result will be big smiles!





Chicken Curry in a Hurry

1 T Canola Oil (Extra Light Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, or even Bacon Fat leftover from cooking bacon this morning)
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (sometimes I use this curry paste--about 3 Tablespoons)
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, in 4 pieces (uh, read my comments below)
1 cup sour cream

Optional Add-ins
slivered almonds (toast them in a dry skillet on medium high heat until they become fragrant)
raisins (I plump mine by soaking them in warm water while I cook everything else, then draining them just before I add them.)

Place the oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. A minute later, add the onion. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, sprinkle with about half the curry powder, and continue to cook for a minute or two.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle it with the remaining curry powder. Move the onion to one side of the skillet and ad the chicken in one layer. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, remove to a plate.

Add the sour cream and stir constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture is nice and thick. Return the chicken to the skillet and cook for 2 more minutes. Turning once. Garnish and serve with plenty of white rice.

Holy cow, I don't follow those instructions at all anymore. It's been awhile since I've looked at the recipe. Now, you've got to remember that I at least double and sometimes triple this recipe. To not have enough for left-overs for the next day would be a crime.

First thing you've got to remember to do is cook the rice, or you won't have anything to put your curry on! Actually, it's so good it doesn't need rice. But most people want it anyway.

So, I slice up two large onions and put them in a skillet with some oil and salt and pepper, and cook them on medium low for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While that's cooking, if I'm working with raw meat, I put oil in a skillet (okay, I only have one skillet large enough to cook this kind of stuff, so I use my giant stock pot--but that's good, because then there's plenty of room to mix a triple batch together) and cook the chicken in batches--there has to be room between the pieces of chicken or it steams instead of browns. I don't really like how the chicken cooks up if it's in large pieces, so I cut it into bite size pieces. And if you're cooking in bacon fat--my, oh my--you'll be in heaven. (Unless of course you're Jewish. And I have no idea what people from India who really know what a curry is supposed to taste like would think of using bacon fat. :) Ignorance is bliss.)

Look! I have a picture of how I cooked the chicken! Hmmm, should have spread apart that chicken more. And of course I'm not doing it in my giant stock pot. But you can see my handy dandy spider there to scoop out the chicken. And in that white mug--bacon fat!

So now I've got a skillet of yummy onion and a giant pot that has all the delicious brown bits that come from cooking the chicken (the chicken has all been scooped out). Over medium low heat I dump the onions in the big pot, add the sour cream and more salt and pepper, stirring constantly until it thickens, and then add the almonds, raisins, and cooked chicken. Check for seasoning. If you're concerned that the cooked chicken won't warm all the way through adding it at the end (you know, if you're using leftover chicken you just took out of the fridge), let it warm up with the onions before you add the sour cream.

Note: This is only Low Carb if you don't eat it with the rice. :)
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