Friday Comfort Foods: Mom's Chicken Curry

The Northeast is in the middle of a big freeze---it hasn't snowed much in Philly this winter, but man has it been cold. What's even worse is just how gray and damp this whole winter has been, spring just seems so so far away.

My friend Rachel has one positive spin on winter--it's the time of year for comfort foods. The dreary days between the holiday season and the first signs of spring are the best times to enjoy simple, hearty foods that fill you up and take the chill out of your bones.

In our house, the best meals are made on the weekends---primarily because like most working women, I simply cannot be bothered to make big meals during the week. I am sure most at-home moms find it equally as difficult---there is just too much to do monday through thursday to make elaborate meals. Most comfort foods, to be made right, take a little time and some extra TLC and in my mother's house, Friday was always comfort food night.

My mother's brand of comfort food was always the same thing: chicken curry. She uses skinless legs and thighs, bone-in, with a homemade paste and cooks it for 2 hours. It's delicious and the meat just falls off the bones. Below is her recipe for the paste, which I make in advance and freeze and use for all sorts of things. This recipe may take some time to master and require a few trips to the spice market, but trust me, it is so so worth it.

Yasmin's recipe for homemade curry paste:

Ingredients:

1 large sweet onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes or 4-5 fresh Romas
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapenos, diced (remove seeds if you desire less heat)

1 tbsp grated ginger


For the "vaghar" or prepping the oil:


1 tbsp whole peppercorns
1 tbssp whole cloves
1 tbsp whole cumin
1 bay leaf
1 dried chili (the red kind you get at any Asian store is fine)
1 stick cinnamon

Dry spices:

2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp lal mirch (this is red chili powder, not to be confused with chili powder used in Mexican cooking, you can find it in most spice stores)
1 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tsp clove powder (you can use even less, this just adds aroma and color)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (again, just a pinch is fine really)
salt to taste

Vegetable oil

Instructions:

Coat the bottom of a large pot with vegetable oil and heat oil. Make sure you dont' heat the oil so much that you smell it (that means it is too hot and possibley burning)--I suggest keeping the range at a med setting while making this entire dish.

Once the oil is hot, you do the vaghar, which is a Gujrathi word for seasoning the cooking oil with dry, whole seeds. Most Indian cooking starts this way, and a lengthier post on the art of vaghar will follow later. First, add the cumin and peppercorns. Once they start to "sizzle", add the dry chili, the cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon stick and stir to make sure they don't burn. After you begin to smell the cumin and cinnamon release, add the chopped onion and mix thoroughly. If the pot is too hot, the onion will start to burn and wilt too quickly, so be sure to monitor the heat.

Add a pinch of salt to help the reduction process and also add the ginger, jalapenos and garlic. Allow the onions to cook down for about 10-15 minutes, at a med low heat, until they are all browned and have reduced to about 2/3 their original quantity.

Then add the tomatoes and allow for the whole mixture to cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Add all dry spices, salt to taste and stir and allow mixture to cook for another 3-4 minutes. At this point, my mom usually lets the mixture reduce even further, but I prefer to remove from heat and once it is sufficiently cooled, I puree the mix in a food processor.

You should get about a cup and a half to two cups of the paste. This is enough to make two batches of curry, each with about 12 pieces of chicken. If you think you need more as you being to cook the chicken, you can always add more. The trick is knowing that the marrow of the chicken and the fat will render and with the paste, make the curry.

Making the Curry (feeds 4-6):

Bring approx one cup of the paste back to medium heat. Add 12 pieces of chicken, legs and thighs mixed (my mom prefers all thighs from a halal market nearby and makes my cousin Jay pick it up every week, I prefer a mix of white and dark meat), 1 1/2 cups water and bring the whole thing to a boil. You can add more water if a thinner curry is desired.

Then reduce heat and allow the chicken to simmer, partially covered, for about an hour. You can then add frozen fenugreek greens or methi (available at most indian stores) or spinach for some green and flavor and hard boiled eggs as well. (A good rule for eggs is to do half of the number of chicken pieces and to remove the yolks.) Continue to cook the chicken until the oil is released and rises to the top. I usually skim the oil and then allow the chicken to sit for 10-15 minutes b/f serving it. My mom will tell you to keep the chicken on low for as long as you can, but Chet and I are too impatient for that.

Serve with rice or store-bought nan. We also do an onion garnish and serve with yogurt. If you want suggestions on how to serve or what to pair the meal with, ask in the comments section and I am happy to help.

The remaining paste can be frozen and stays good for up to 3 months. More recipe ideas for the paste to come.