This recipe works because it’s simple, tastes great, and easy to execute. All that, and it makes a bunch of food so you can bring it to work and eat on the cheap for like half the week (in addition to multiple dinners). I take a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and add some potatoes because I’m Irish and I can’t help myself. I’m a sucker for tubers and that’s just the way it is. I can’t help it and it’s not high on my list to correct. In fact, I don’t believe I have a problem, I don’t eat potatoes that much, you just think I do. Leave me alone.
The basic flow is to brown the chicken, take it out, bloom the spices then get the liquid going. Put the chicken and potatoes (or whatever other hearty veggies you want) in there and let it cook away until the chicken and veggies are tender. Serve it over rice and you’re good to go. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1.5-2 lbs potatoes cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tbsp. vegetable Oil
- 2+ tbsp. curry powder (depending on how strong you want the flavor)
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- 2 onions, minced
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1 tbsp. ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
You’re going to start by patting the chicken dry and seasoning it with salt and pepper. Get half the oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat until smoking then lay the chicken in there in batches to avoid crowding. As they brown on one side, flip them over. Browning both sides should to about 8-10 minutes.
Once all of the chicken is browned and moved to a separate plate, add the remaining oil into the pot and add the curry powder and garam masala until it’s fragrant (about 10 seconds). Then stir in the onion and a bunch of salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Now clear out the middle of the pot and put the garlic, ginger, and tomato paste in there for 30 seconds until fragrant. Mix it in with the rest of the onions and start slowly adding water as you scrape brown bits off the bottom. Once all of thw water is in there, add in the chicken and potatoes and bring to a simmer then cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 45 minutes. Keep checking along the way to taste the liquid and the chicken to check on doneness.
Stir in the peas, coconut milk, and butter and cook until the butter is melted. Check the consistency of the curry and it’s flavor and continue cooking, seasoning, and reducing until it taste the way you want it. You can thicken it up by taking off the lid of the pot midway through cooking and keeping an eye to ensure it keeps simmer but doesn’t get too thick. Serve it over basmati rice.
