Basic Curried Anything

[Rozzer]

I love Indian food. I discovered it in high school when in junior year I took a girl on a date to a concert and we looked for somewhere to eat. We found an Indian place, entirely new to me, and had a wonderful time with samosas, pakoras, dhal, naan, and hot curried chicken, after which we hurried off to hear the music.

Don't know why, since I wasn't raised on anything spicy (Mexican or Tex-Mex food was not at all widely known at the time, nor were Szechwan or Hunan dishes), but hot and spicy food had no terrors for me then or now. Of course that shouldn't really be a big issue for anyone considering that any Indian dish can be made with a lot or a little of the fiery stuff that burns the throat.

Decades later I chanced across the Patak brand of Indian spices and condiments in a local Asian store, bought some, tried them, and have continued to buy and use them since with absolute satisfaction (of course I have no connection with them whatsoever). All of their line of spices (which is extensive) is packaged and presented as pastes that come in jars. One keeps them in the fridge after opening and they last for at least a year, and last very well. Check them out yourselves at: http://www.pataks.co.uk/

Patak's pastes are very different indeed from "curry powder," around which I put quotation marks because I'm not in favor of it. "Curry powder" does not keep very long at all, and, if you use it, all your curries taste depressingly the same. I've tried American label curry powders, Jamaican curry powders, Indian curry powders and British curry powders. No luck. If you want to make a dish that even slightly resembles something you might have eaten at a half-decent Indian restaurant, buy and use a curry paste (there are different brands) or make your own curry powder (easier than it sounds): http://knol.google.com/k/how-to-make-curry-powder#

Finding out that my wife wasn't particularly partial to curry I determined to make some myself and in fact wound up doing it so often that I got it down to a routine. Here's a plain, basic, easy, fast, tasty chicken curry; definitely a good, simple weeknight supper.

I use Patak's hot Vindaloo curry paste, but they have many in all strengths from mild to hot including Madras and other kinds of curries. (And do try a teaspoon of any curry paste in your scrambled eggs!)

Let's assume we're making dinner for four people.

Salt and brown eight boneless, skinless chicken thighs in one or two tablespoons of olive oil. Reserve. Slice two large onions into rounds. Smash two or three cloves of garlic. Fry the onion and garlic on a medium burner in one or two tablespoons of olive oil. When the onion has turned golden, dump in one or two tablespoons of curry paste.

Mix the paste into the onions and garlic and let fry for a minute or two. Shake (hard) two cans of any supermarket coconut milk (either from the ethnic section or the condensed milk area - which is cheaper) to homogenize the milk a bit, open the cans, and pour onto the onion/garlic/curry in the pan. Scrape up whatever may be sticking to the bottom of the pan, mix well, put in the browned chicken pieces, and cover. Simmer for half an hour or longer, depending on when you consider the chicken to be "done."

Serve over your favorite rice, with chutney or Indian pickles and a cool, green salad. Cold lager goes very well indeed with this dish.