Here
is my Special Recipe for...
Chicken "Del
Mick" Curry for Four
I don't know if Del
McCoury would eat this, but I can call it "Del Mick" because it
comes from little old Irish Catholic me. one of my favorite ways to forget
the hassles of the day is to make a big mess in the kitchen. Let's get
down to it.
From the
One and Only...
Tim O'Brien
This is
what you need...
Four boneless, skinless
chicken breasts
One Red bell pepper,
trimmed and seeded
Two or three red hot
peppers or substitute (cayenne or jalapenos), trimmed and seeded
5 Cloves garlic
One and inch cube (or
more) peeled fresh ginger, chopped
One onion, chopped
Tablespoon ground
cumin seed
Two teaspoons ground
coriander
Half teaspoon ground
turmeric
Two teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons blanched
and chopped almonds
5 tablespoons
vegetable oil
2 cups chicken stock
Juice of half a lemon
Ground black pepper to
taste
Some fresh cilantro.
This is how
you do it...
Add or subtract garlic
and hot pepper amount as you like. More in the summer, less if there's
little kids eating.
Put the onion,
peppers, ginger, garlic, almonds, spices (except back pepper), in food
processor, and grind into a paste. If you need to, add a little chicken
broth or water to help that along.
Cut the chicken
breasts in bite sized pieces.
Heat the oil in a
large deep frying pan or soup pot (I like a cast iron Dutch oven) on
medium high until hot and add the paste, stirring occasionally for about
ten minutes or so. (You'll see the oil separate from the paste after a
while, forming "tiny bubbles" around it. "Tiny bubbles make
me happy", so I'm usually having a beer about now.)
Add the chicken
pieces.
Add chicken stock
gradually and stir into the paste.
Bring to a boil, lower
heat to a simmer, and stir occasionally for about twenty minutes.
Add the lemon juice
and some ground black pepper. (Sometimes I'll stir in a half cup of plain
yogurt now, toward the end of cooking process as it can curdle if you cook
it too much.)
Serve this
with...Serve
over individual bowls of rice, garnish with some fresh cilantro sprigs.
Turn on the
cool sounds of...Suggested
listening while dining - anything my me, because I'm really, really good
and tasty too.
There's usually more than
enough food here for four people, but make sure to save some for yourself
to heat up for the next day's lunch. It's always better the next day -
your taste buds are fresh, you don't have to work before you eat, and the
flavors sink in overnight like any stew or soup.
www.timobrien.net
