I modified a recipe that belongs to Jamie Oliver for Chicken Tikka Masala. I will give the original recipe first (courtesy of Jamie Oliver, found in Jamie's Food Revolution cookbook) and then I will tell you what I did.
Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breast fillets
2 medium onions
1 fresh red chile
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
peanut or vegetable oil
a pat of butter
1/2 cup of tikka masala or mild curry paste
sea salt and ground pepper
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14oz can of coconut milk
1 cup of natural yogurt
a small handful of sliced almonds
1 lemon
Slice the chicken breasts into pieces. Chop the chile. Peel and slice the ginger and onion. pick off the cilantro leaves, reserve and chop the stems.
Put a large, deep pan on medium high heat and add a few lugs of oil and butter. Add onions, chile, ginger and cilantro stems. Cook for 10 minutes until caramelized. Add curry paste and strips of chicken. Stir to coat and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Fill one empty can with water and add to the pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes with the lid on. Check regularly for signs of drying out and add more water if needed. When the meat is tender and cooked, the curry is done. The yogurt, cilantro leaves, almonds and lemon juice can be used as finishing touches if desired.
Now, here's what I did.
Ingredients
2 whole chickens. Mine were two 17 week old dual purpose roosters.
1 medium onion
1 jalepino
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
a bit of dried cilantro
vegetable oil
butter
kosher salt and ground pepper
1 14.5oz can of tomatoes
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
I couldn't find the curry paste so I made my own from one of Jamie's recipes. I used
2 tbs garam masala
2tsp dried minced garlic
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
1/2 a jalepino
2 tbs paprika
kosher salt
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
dried cilantro
4 tbs almond flour (ground almonds)
basically just toss all the curry paste ingredients in the food processor until you have a pasty mixture.
I took the skin off the chicken and cut it into segments, discarding the really small wing pieces. I had never done this before but it was not hard. Next, I let oil and butter heat in two pans. In one, I caramelized the chopped onion, jalepino and ginger. In the other I cooked the outside of each piece of chicken by frying, but not for too long. I combined the two pans then added the paste, diced tomatoes, coconut milk and a can full of water. I added all the extra seasonings, brought it to a boil then simmered with the lid on. The beauty of this dish is that the chicken is the only thing that you have to worry about. Nothing else can really be overcooked so you can let it stew until the chicken is as tender as you like which makes it great for dual purpose roosters. It may taste even better if you could get fresh garlic and cilantro like he said but my supermarket is limited this time of year. You can make it as spicy or mild as you like based on the type of pepper used and type of spice.
Ingredients
4 skinless chicken breast fillets
2 medium onions
1 fresh red chile
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
peanut or vegetable oil
a pat of butter
1/2 cup of tikka masala or mild curry paste
sea salt and ground pepper
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14oz can of coconut milk
1 cup of natural yogurt
a small handful of sliced almonds
1 lemon
Slice the chicken breasts into pieces. Chop the chile. Peel and slice the ginger and onion. pick off the cilantro leaves, reserve and chop the stems.
Put a large, deep pan on medium high heat and add a few lugs of oil and butter. Add onions, chile, ginger and cilantro stems. Cook for 10 minutes until caramelized. Add curry paste and strips of chicken. Stir to coat and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Fill one empty can with water and add to the pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes with the lid on. Check regularly for signs of drying out and add more water if needed. When the meat is tender and cooked, the curry is done. The yogurt, cilantro leaves, almonds and lemon juice can be used as finishing touches if desired.
Now, here's what I did.
Ingredients
2 whole chickens. Mine were two 17 week old dual purpose roosters.
1 medium onion
1 jalepino
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
a bit of dried cilantro
vegetable oil
butter
kosher salt and ground pepper
1 14.5oz can of tomatoes
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
I couldn't find the curry paste so I made my own from one of Jamie's recipes. I used
2 tbs garam masala
2tsp dried minced garlic
a thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
1/2 a jalepino
2 tbs paprika
kosher salt
2 tbs vegetable oil
4 tbs tomato paste
1 tsp cayenne pepper
dried cilantro
4 tbs almond flour (ground almonds)
basically just toss all the curry paste ingredients in the food processor until you have a pasty mixture.
I took the skin off the chicken and cut it into segments, discarding the really small wing pieces. I had never done this before but it was not hard. Next, I let oil and butter heat in two pans. In one, I caramelized the chopped onion, jalepino and ginger. In the other I cooked the outside of each piece of chicken by frying, but not for too long. I combined the two pans then added the paste, diced tomatoes, coconut milk and a can full of water. I added all the extra seasonings, brought it to a boil then simmered with the lid on. The beauty of this dish is that the chicken is the only thing that you have to worry about. Nothing else can really be overcooked so you can let it stew until the chicken is as tender as you like which makes it great for dual purpose roosters. It may taste even better if you could get fresh garlic and cilantro like he said but my supermarket is limited this time of year. You can make it as spicy or mild as you like based on the type of pepper used and type of spice.
