Chicken Curry
This recipe is best served with fresh tropical fruit in cream, and sweetened saffron rice (below), with mango chutney or other Indian chutney.
1.5 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, trimmed & pressed
2-3 cubes bouillon
2 or 3 over-ripe bananas
1 apple, peeled and diced (granny apple is OK)
1 can Bartlett pears in nectar, mushed, or 2 fresh pears (yo-nashi), diced
2 tbsp. good-quality yellow curry powder
paprika, red pepper
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup whole almonds
1/2 pint heavy cream (or 1 cup plain, non-dietetic yogurt)
2 pinches Garam Masala powder
Put the bouillon cubes in 1 cup of water in a 4-quart pot and bring to a boil. Dice all the fruit and add it to the boiling broth. Stir in all the curry powder. Put the lid on tightly and let it simmer for about 20 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
Sautee the onions and garlic in a skillet with some oil, add black pepper and put it into the main pot. Cut the chicken into strips and sauté in skillet. Add paprika, red pepper, garam masala, almonds and raisins. When chicken is white outside but not cooked all through, add contents of skillet to the main pot. Cover main pot, reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes longer. Add the cream (or yogurt) prior to serving.
NEW
Sweet Saffron Rice
Robbie Adams
This rice is good with the above curry, and comes from Madhur Jaffrey's "A Taste of India"
4-5 saffron threads
1/4 cup whole milk or cream
2 cups white rice
1 cup water
oil
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup golden raisins
slivered almonds or whole cashews
2 sticks cinnamon
2 pods cardamom
Optional: sauteed onions
Early in the afternoon, put four or five threads of saffron in 1/4 cup of warm milk and cover. Let it sit for 4 or 5 hours before cooking. The milk will turn orange. Wash rice, then let it soak in cold water for 20 minutes. Rinse it once more and let it drain thoroughly.
Melt butter in a wide skillet, and add cardamom, cinnamon and nuts. Cook for about 5 minutes at medium heat. Add the rice, a cup of water, and the milk-saffron mixture. Not right away, but before all the water is absorbed, add sugar, raisins and, if you like, sauteed onion. Cook the whole thing for about 15 minutes, but do not let the bottom turn brown. Pull out the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods if you can find them before serving.
NEW
Indian Dessert
Serve this with the above curry and rice.
Peel, seed and cut up a mango with 1 tsp. brown sugar (optional), and chill. Serve over vanilla ice cream or sherbert. (Chocolate ice cream might also be good, but avoid butter peacan.)
NEW
Miso Soup
Mrs. Matsuda
To non-Japanese readers: this is a delicious, buttery soup, but if you read the recipe it sounds terrible. Follow it carefully, but it is pretty foolproof. It is traditionally served with some rice and fish and can be eaten any time,
Boil about 2 cups water in a saucepan with some dried seaweed in it for about 5 minutes, and then add about 1 cup of dry shaved bonito. Let this boil about 5 minutes, then strain out the bonito and seaweed. Reduce the heat to just below simmering – if you were to let the liquid boil, then the miso paste will separate into little curds in the liquid. Put about 2 tbsp. of miso paste in a clean strainer and set the strainer in the pot of liquid; push the paste through the screen with a spoon and let it dissolve. Cube some fresh tofu and add it. You may also add shrimp, dried whole minnows, some baked eel or some fresh seaweed before serving.