Curry Chicken with Seasoned Rice

This past weekend, my assistant Nicholas Childs and I performed demonstrations at the Siouxland Renaissance Festival.  We prepared many things: Applejack Pork, Lamb Stew, Tandoori Lamb, Meatball Stew, Basque Herb Rubbed Turkey, and Curry Chicken with seasoned rice. I will post the other recipes here later.

Now, many of you may think, how hard can that be.  I have my own jar of curry and I can make this at home.  Well, that is true, but we didn’t have a jar of curry.  We made our own curry blend from our collection of spices. 

Fans from my facebook page have asked for the recipe and I am not about to deny them this wonderful recipe.  Now as a note, this makes quite a bit of curry, so it would be best to blend the spices in advance and preserve any remaining spice for another day.

Depending on the culture, curries can have a wide range of color – yellow, red, green, and brown. The color of curry is dependent upon the combination and amounts of spices.  This recipe features a brown curry.

Ingredients:
Three large boneless chicken breasts or eight boneless chicken thighs
Four Large Carrots, chopped 
One Medium Onion, diced
Two Cloves of Garlic, minced
Basamati Rice
Black Pepper
Ground Ginger
Saffron
Oil

In a rice pot, begin preparing the rice (basamati) and add a pinch of saffron and two pinches of ground ginger and a pinch of black pepper to cook with the rice.  I use a rice cooker, so that it is fairly easy to make. 

While the rice is cooking, blend together:
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin, ground
1/4 tsp coriander, ground
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ginger, dried and cracked (preferred) ground is also acceptable
1/4 tsp cumin seeds

At the Siouxland Renaissance Festival, we demonstrated how to deconstruct and debone a whole chicken.  You may chose to go this route, or utilize boneless chicken breasts or thighs.  Take a large fry pan or pot and begin heating it over medium and add oil (I perfer olive, sesame, or safflower oil). 

While it heats up, cut of your chicken and carrots into 1″ – 2″ pieces.  Take a teaspoon of the spice blend and add it to the hot oil.  This will cause the spices to “popcorn” or “blossom” releasing extra flavors.  Stir the spices around and add the onion and garlic to the oil.  When the onion begins to soften, add the chicken and the carrots to the pan/pot. 

Begin stiring so that the chicken and the carrots begin to cook evenly (about 5 minutes).  Add two more teaspoons of the spice blend and continue cooking.  Stiring occassionally, you want to make sure that the chicken doesn’t overcook.

Right about now, the rice should be done.  Remove from the heat and place on the plate or bowl.  Stir the chicken once last time.  The chicken should be firm to the touch while the carrots are soft.  Remove from the heat and wait five minutes before placing the cooked carrots and chicken on top of the rice. 

Feel free to serve and enjoy!