Coconut Chicken Curry

I don’t know why it took me so long to give into the flavour of curry but I’m glad I did. Growing up in my household, and for the most part all of our family friends’ households, curry was not a spice or a dish that was ever served. Poles are not really into using spices for the most part- plenty of herbs — but really no spice. So I really had no idea how to use curry in dishes, how to incorporate it slowly without overpowering a meal, or understanding what typically goes into curries.

I think one of the things I like the most is that the colour of a curry is so enticing – and it can change easily based on how much of one ingredient you use. I’ve seen an array of colours – from yellow sunshine, to a mandarin orange in liquid form, all the way to a tomato red… and let me tell you, it is pretty satisfying to see such a silky and true colour from your food!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 small cooking onions, diced ( I only had red onion in the fridge, so I used that!
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 1/2 tbsp of yellow curry powder, mild
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1 tsp of ground coriander
• 1 tsp of turmeric
• 4 tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 can of coconut milk/cream
• 4 cups chicken/veggie broth
• 1/2 cup of a nut butter, optional
• Rice/warm pita for serving
• Fresh coriander for serving

Start by heating a large frying pan with lid over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of neutral oil. Brown your chicken breast until about 80% cooked and then remove from the pan and let rest in bowl off to the side. Add more oil if necessary and sauté your onion for about 3-5 minutes on low-medium heat. Next, add the garlic and grated ginger and cook for another minute or two until fragrant.

Then, re-add the chicken and all of its accumulative juices back into the pan. Add all your spices — curry powder, paprika, and turmeric– and allow them to bloom by cooking them for another minute or so. Next, add the tomato paste to the pan and cook out until it turns deeper in colour.

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Add your broth to the pan and mix together well. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taking your utensil, stir in your nut butter of choice (I use soya butter!) and allow to simmer again for another 5 minutes. Lastly, add a can of coconut milk or coconut cream to the pan and incorporate into your sauce until there are no more white streaks. Season with salt to taste and then simmer once more for another 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce has become thicker in consistency and looks silky in colour like foodie paint!

Enjoy over warmed pita or a rice of your choice to bulk up the meal and top with fresh chopped coriander if you’re a fan. Talk about one big hug from the inside out, am I right?

Peace and good eats,
-A❁