Indian Curry Two Ways

America's Test Chicken consists of two separate chickens, each with her own take on this cooking thing. Check out Chicken One's related blog, A Travel for Taste where she shares travel stories and recipes collected whenever she ventures abroad. And give Chicken Two's new, also-related blog, Poop from the Coop a read. There you can find stories about her personal adventure re-experiencing the kitchen after many years away. Please join our Facebook group to share your own recipes, kitchen practices and know-how. We are also on Pinterest and Instagram.

The complete recipes appear at the end of this post.

From Chicken One: This time around the Chickens wanted to make a basic Indian curry dish. In Indian Cooking Unfolded, one of our new favorite cookbooks, author Raghavan Iyer lays out a simple recipe with delicious results. True to course, we each chose a variation. I did the straightforward chicken curry described in the book. Iyer gives several substitutions, though, including pork, tofu and even potatoes. It's nothing more than sauteeing some onions, garlic and ginger in oil... ...adding spices, diced tomatoes and cream, then processing until smooth... ...then adding cubed meat or other protein and cooking til tender. We served ours over basmati rice with naan flatbread on the side. It's that easy! It makes great leftovers, too. I like to double this recipe so I actually have leftovers! Then we had to make a trip to Patel Brothers just in case there was something there we needed to see! Try the recipe below and let us know what you think!

From Chicken Two: This was a fun dish to make! It's a very easy recipe that makes a basic dish you can use in a variety of ways. I made it with Pork and, though I know you've heard this before, it tasted just like chicken! Ha ha! No, really....the key is in the spices used...and that's pretty much the basis of the flavor. If using the Pork, I recommend cooking it a little longer than the recipe states to get it more tender.You can also use Tofu, lamb, potatoes or any other ingredient and still have a delicious dish. Both Chicken #1 and I highly recommend doubling the spices in the recipe. We're not sure, but we think perhaps the author thinks we Americans can't handle a little fire! Speaking of spices, the recipe called for a spice blend called Raghavan's blend. (Concocted by the author of the book and used in the place of Madras Curry blend.) I made it myself prior to our cooking fest and when I smelled the finished product, I think it cleared my sinuses! You can find the recipe for the blend on Poop from the Coop where I detail the process.

Indian Chicken or Pork Curry

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 medium cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 4 pieces fresh ginger (each about quarter-coin size), unpeeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons spice blend/Madras curry powder or to taste
• 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken or pork cut in 2-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking Directions

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high til it shimmers. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Saute til onion starts to turn brown, 4-5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle spices into skillet. Stir and let roast about 10 seconds. Add tomatoes and stir.
3. Lower heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5-7 minutes.
4. Add half-and-half and scrape bottom of skillet to deglaze.
5. Transfer sauce to blender or food processor. Puree until it looks slightly curdled but smooth.
6. Return to skillet, stir in meat and salt.
7. Simmer over medium-low, covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is tender and cooked through, about 12-15 minutes for chicken, a little less for pork.
8. Serve warm over rice and garnish with cilantro.