Slow Food: Chicken and Potato Curry
Growing up in a Burmese household, my parents would make this for large groups of guests. In typical fashion, the men would eat in one room and the women in the other, and the kids would take over the kitchen. Chicken and Potato Curry was usually served along side the home made palata(parathas) that my parents would painstakingly make. Thankfully, they now have palata in the frozen section which saves me about 8 hours of work! As a kid, I would eat palata with sugar, and then eat the curry separately. I still might do that ;)
When creating this recipe, I wanted something I could eat on its own or paired with rice or noodles. It is a bit more on the fusion side, as the traditional Burmese recipe wouldn’t add the coconut milk. I have made it this way as its not too spicy and the addition of the milk mellows out the flavors for any palate. Why is it slow food? Simple. I make the curry and usually let it cool off, and sit in the fridge for a day before I eat it. It just.tastes. better. Such is the chemistry of curry. I do recommend using bone-in chicken as that makes a big difference in the flavor of the sauce. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Four pieces of bone-in chicken (two thighs skin removed, two drumsticks skin on)
One tablespoon of butter, vegetable oil or ghee
One onion, chopped
One shallot, chopped
One clove of garlic, peeled and minced
One teaspoon of ginger chopped
1/2 cup of water
One teaspoon chicken broth powder(or a buillion cube crushed)
One Tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon or parsley(optional)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper/chili flakes (optional)
8oz or 1 small box of coconut milk
One bay leaf
1 cup of cooked potato roughly chopped
3/4 cup of mixed vegetables (optional) - in this version I used a mix of frozen peas and bell pepper
Directions
Some prep work(mise en place, if you want to be fancy) makes this recipe flow much more easily. Mix the broth powder, curry powder and tarragon/parsley in a bowl. Chop the rest of the ingredients and then get ready…
Salt and pepper the chicken. Over medium high heat, add the butter and once it melts add the chicken and let it brown in a large stockpot - you don’t need to cook it all the way through - this is just to add a layer of flavor. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside on a plate.
In the same pan with the chicken drippings, add the onion and shallot and let it sweat for five minutes on a medium heat. When the mix goes clear, add the garlic and ginger until fragrant, around 3-5 min. Keep stirring, you don’t want this to burn or its game over on your curry!
Now add the broth and curry powder and stir - this will be fragrant and once it dries into the mix, add the 1/2 cup of water and stir. Let this reduce and after about 2-3 minutes, add the coconut milk and let it simmer.
There are two options: you can leave the curry as is for more texture (Burmese preference) or you can use a stick blender for a smoother sauce (my preference!). If you are using the stick blender - take your time. The last thing you want to do here is splatter yourself with anything that has just been boiling. Once you have a texture you like, put it back on the stove.
Now add the chicken and the juices, cooked potato cubes, bay leaf, chili flakes and herbs if you are using them. Let this mix simmer for about 10 minutes.
At this point, once again choose your adventure: you can cook for another 10-15 minutes, add the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes and serve or…for a better curry, turn off the heat and let it cool. Put it in the fridge overnight and then add the mixed vegetables the next day and heat it all on a slow simmer for 15 minutes. I promise it is worth the wait. Serve on its own or alongside the carbohydrate of your choice. (Rice, ramen, quinoa, palata - whatever your heart desires!)