Pistachio and Yogurt Chicken Curry

Another home run from Made in India by Meera Sodha. This is a rich, spice-filled, flavorful chicken curry which fills the house with a tempting aroma. I can't stress how much we all loved this.

Pistachio and Yogurt Chicken Curry

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.

1-1/4 cups unsalted shelled pistachios (divided)
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, sliced into fine rings
2 medium whole canned or fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1-3/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken stock, warmed
4 tablespoons plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (plus extra to serve)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Hot cooked rice


In a food processor, pulse 1 cup pistachios to a fine powder; remove and set aside. Next, make a paste of the ginger and garlic in food processor or using a mortar and pestle.

In a large skillet (for which you have a lid), heat oil over medium heat and then add the onions. Sauté onions until caramelized, around 20 minutes, being careful not to burn. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes. Place a lid over skillet and let tomatoes cook 5 minutes, until starting to break down. Add black pepper, garam masala, chile flakes, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Stir, cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add chicken to pan.

Cook chicken 2 minutes per side or until seared on both sides, then add ground pistachios. Stir and cook 2 minutes, then pour in warmed chicken stock. Gently stir in yogurt. Place lid over skillet and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken reaches 160°. Taste and adjust salt or chile as desired. Stir in a small amount of water if sauce becomes too thick. Squeeze lemon over curry just before serving.

Serve over rice topped with a dollop of yogurt, remaining pistachios and additional lemon juice, if desired.

Curried Cream of Chicken Soup

This is from The Silver Palate Cookbook. It is simple, delicious, and a touch out of the ordinary, both because of the curry flavor and the "cream" method which calls for half-and-half but is just as good with regular milk!

Step 1:
6 tablespoons butter (I use 2 tablespoons)
2 cups minced onions
2 carrots, peeled and chopped

Cook over low heat, covered, until tender.

Step 2:
2 tablespoons curry powder
5 cups chicken stock
6 parsley sprigs
1 chicken, quartered
½ cup rice
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer until chicken is done. Cool chicken in stock. Remove meat from bones and dice it.

Step 3:
1 cup half and half (I use milk, either whole or 2%, depending on what I've got around)
10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted

Remove fat from broth. Strain soup through strainer.

Put solids and 1 cup stock in food processor and puree. Return to pot and add milk. Stir in reserved stock until soup reaches desired consistency. Add chicken and peas and simmer for 15 minutes or until peas are done. Season to taste.

Curried Beef with Potatoes and Peas

Thanksgiving left me all cooked out and we lived on leftovers from that and other recent meals for several days.

However, this dish, which is Cooking Light's version of an Indian dish called Tori Keema, appealed to me so much that I made it twice within the last two weeks. It is easy, savory, and quick ... all highly appealing qualities whether faced with feast cooking recovery or a mid-week meal.

I have rearranged the cooking instructions somewhat to only use one pan. I also use more oil than they call for, though the as little as possible needed to get the job done.

Start some rice cooking before you put this on and you'll have a great dinner with little effort.

Curried Beef with Potatoes and Peas

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled red potatoes (I always use a baking potato)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground round
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup chicken broth
2-1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon mango chutney, such as Major Grey (don't sweat this if you don't have any)
1 teaspoon salt (my amount, not CL's)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add potato, cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to bowl.

2. Cook beef and onion in skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Stir in peas.

3. Add potatoes, curry powder and broth; cook 2 minutes. Add chutney, salt and pepper; simmer 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Turkey Curry in a Hurry

This is from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe by the Cook's Illustrated folks.

I actually did roast a turkey and make this from the leftovers, along with some Turkey Tetrazzini, and many delicious turkey sandwiches. As well, before popping the bird in the oven, I cut off the wings and simmered them in some water with the neck, thereby also getting about 4 cups of turkey stock out of the deal. We tend to forget that not only does the price-per-pound go down on a whole turkey (or chicken) but there are many benefits to having the various bits to use in other ways.

At any rate, I didn't do a lot of what they wanted. For example, I didn't roast potatoes and carrots with my turkey, some of which to use in this curry. We wanted mashed potatoes and I'm not a cooked carrot fan. So that was out.

I didn't have any raisins. It was still delicious.

I forgot to buy cilantro. It was still delicious.

Anyway, you get the idea. This is a good base curry recipe for all sorts of variations. They caution you not to substitute low-fat or non-fat yogurt and I would agree that would make a big difference. I used Fage, that wonderful Greek yogurt. I treat myself to one container a week ... unless more is needed for something like this curry.

So enough nattering ... on with the recipe!

Step 1:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin (I also chopped it up a bit)
1/4 cup raisins (didn't have them)
2 tablespoons curry powder
Salt
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press
4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just shimmering. Add the onion, raisins, curry powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is softened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Step 2:
2 cups roasted vegetables (didn't have them)
1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup water
10 ounces cooked turkey, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 cup frozen peas

Stir in the roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and water and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the turkey and peas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Step 3:
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

Off the heat, stir in the yogurt and cilantro. Season with salt to taste and serve immediately.

Thai-Style Ground Beef

This is from Cooking Light. I have to say that they really are geniuses at getting an essential cultural flavor down in the easiest possible way for a quick meal. Probably the best tribute to this recipe is that I didn't mention to Tom it was something new. He took a bite, his eyes widened, and he looked at me. "Wow!
This is great!"

Notes:

• I didn't have light coconut milk, just the regular sort. However, I inadvertently cut out a lot of the fat by just using a church key style can opener to poke holes in the top. This kept most of the fat in the can as it was evidently cool enough for it to be solidified.
• I was in a tearing hurry so didn't do the leek step ... and also didn't have iceberg lettuce. No matter. It was still great.
  

Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced leek
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 pound lean ground sirloin
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice
Iceberg lettuce wedges (optional)
Chopped cilantro
Chopped green onions (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.

Add leek; sauté 5 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute.

Add beef; cook 7 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring to crumble. [Drain any fat, especially if, like me, you had ground chuck and not ground sirloin.]

Stir in curry paste and tomato sauce; cook until half of liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes).

Add coconut milk and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce); cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve with the rice and lettuce wedges, if desired. Garnish with cilantro and green onions, if desired.

Serves 8

Tags:Food

Thai-Style Chicken Curry

This is from Ken Hom's Quick Wok: The Fastest Food in the East. It is unbelievably easy although the technique of letting the chicken steep left me with half raw chicken and lukewarm sauce. That was easily enough solved by simply turning on the stove and simmering for a few minutes. Beware of the curry paste which scores high on the "heat meter" and start with 1 tablespoon (or less) if you don't like food really spicy.

I have never heard Tom answer as loudly or assertively about a recipe as he did when my question of if I should make this again got a resounding "YES!" from him.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
14 ounce can of coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons red Thai curry paste, to taste
3 tablespoons finely shredded spring onions (green onions)
1-1/2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh ginger
1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
1 teaspoon lime juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sugar

Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes.

In a wok, combine everything except the chicken. Bring to simmering point.

Add chicken. Immediately cover the wok tightly, remove it from the heat and stand, covered, for 15 minutes, to allow the chicken to steep in the hot curry sauce.

Turn onto a warm platter and serve with steamed rice.