Eileen's Curry

 

All of my children love to cook. I can't claim total responsability for that, as their father used to love to cook as well.  He made great Spaghetti sauce and baked beautiful bread. He used to make our kitchen table dance across the floor when he was kneading his bread.  As you can imagine we went through a lot of bread with five hungry children to feed, three of them being boys!  I was talking to my oldest daughter the other day and she asked me if I knew how to make curry. She liked curried chicken and she was wanting to make one.

 

 My oldest daughter is developmentally challenged, but whatever challenges she faces, cooking is not one of them. She loves to cook and is a really good cook.  So long as a recipe is fairly straight forward, she does really well.  I created a delicious, yet simple chicken curry recipe just for her that I thought she would enjoy.

 

Its a very straight forward make and doesn't require any unsual or even a lot of ingredients.  You just cook some spring onions and garlic in a bit of oil, add some tinned tomatoes and curry powder and ginger.  Nothing unsual there. Once that gets going you add in chicken thighs that you have cut into bits and you brown them in the curry paste/mixture for a while, just until they start to brown a bit.

 

Then you add some hot water, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for a while, until the sauce thickens up a bit and the chicken is tender.  That's it.  Simple.

 

At the very end you stir in a bit of natural Greek yogurt which gives it a lovely creaminess and that is it. Its ready to serve.

 

With some simple steamed basmati rice and a smattering of spring onion sprinkled over top, that's it.  Dinner is served.  We like to have a dollop of Greek yogurt on top as well when we eat it. 

 

This is just spicy enough, not too spicy and not too mild.  Todd really loved it. I think he had two servings himself.

 

The North American in me likes to add a bit of mango chutney as well, when it is cooking. It just adds a hint of sweetness which I find very appealing.  I always use Geeta's Chutney because we like the flavour of it. It has lots of lovely bits in it and a bit of a bite. Its very nice.

 

But you can leave that out entirely if you wish. It will still be very good without it . . .  I just like that little bit of something extra that it adds. 

 

I can't wait for my daughter to make it.  I just know she is going to love it and I have every bit of confidence in her ability to do so. Her husband won't eat it, but by making this whole recipe, she has one portion she can eat on the day and three more that she can freeze for the future when her husband is having something she doesn't like!  Everybody wins!

 

*Eileen's Curry*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

A deliciously simple and spicy curry which is quick and easy to make.

6 spring onions, washed trimmed and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

2 TBS vegetable oil

200g chopped tomatoes in juice ( about 7 ounces)

2 TBS curry powder (whatever strength you like)

1 tsp ground ginger

400g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces (3/4 pound)

250ml hot water (9 fluid ounces)

2 TBS good mango chutney (optional)

100ml Greek-style naturaal yogurt (3 1/2 fluid ounces)

salt and black pepper to taste

To serve:

steamed rice

more yogurt

 

 Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or saucepan over  medium high heat.  Add the spring onion, (reserving some to garnish at the end) and garlic. Cook, stirring, for several minutes. Add the tomatoes, undrained, curry powder and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5  minutes, adding a splash of water if the pan starts to dry out. (You don't want the spices to burn.)  Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat them all over.  Cook for a further five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is beginning to brown a bit.  Add the hot water, and chutney (if using), bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes.  The juices should run clear. the meat should not be pink. Stir in the yogurt and heat gently through.  Sprinkle with the remaining sliced spring onions.  Serve with steamed rice and a dollop of yogurt.

 

Like I said Todd really enjoyed this.  I think I am getting the hang of this curry lark.  For a person who didn't have a lot of experience with making curries before I moved over here to the UK, I think I am doing really well.  Bon Appetit!