Raghavan Iyer Breast of Chicken with Tomato and Coconut Milk from 660 Curries

Well, it's been quite a long time since I've blogged.  I certainly intended to blog more frequently over the last month, but with completing out my job contract and visitors from the US, it's been very busy around here! It's been great fun, but even though I've been cooking the entire time I really haven't found much time to blog. I received a lovely cook-book, 600 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, from my sister-in-law who visited us in early July and have been exploring many recipes from this book over the last month.  This is the first of what I expect will be many recipes I blog about from this cook-book.  Cooking from this book is quickly becoming a favorite past time around here!

Breast of Chicken with Tomato and Coconut Milk
adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer 660 (p. 146)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of oil (I used peanut, the recipe calls for canola)
1 small onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced (I used a small yellow onion, the recipe calls for a red onion)
4 medium sized cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used a blender for this)
2 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 2.5 inches long, 1 inch wide and 0.25 inch thick), julienned
1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons of English-Style Madras Curry Powder (don't let this stop you, this was very simple to make if you have a spice grinder and whole spices; it may be possible to mix the already ground spices as well, but I have not tried this)
1.5 teaspoon of coarse kosher or sea salt
0.25 cup unsweetened coconut milk (I actually used a lot more as I wanted a lot more broth, I used 8.5 fl oz)
1 large tomato, cored and fully chopped (I used 2 small ones and left out about 0.25 of the chopped tomatoes out - it felt like too much tomato and since it is added towards the end I didn't feel they would cook down enough)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems (I used a small handful, this is not something I would measure measure out)

English-Style Madras Curry Powder

Place the following items in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and blend until the mixture is finely ground (like your other ground spices!)
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds (I used black)
0.5 teaspoon whole clove (this was hard to measure, an approximate is fine and can also be adjusted to your taste)
0.5 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
5 to 7 dried red Thai or cayenne chilies, stems removed (to taste)

Once blended, add 1 teaspoon of ground tumeric to the mixture.

You will have leftover masala from this recipe.

Recipe:
1. Prepare all the ingredients (chop the tomatoes, grind the splice blend, cut the onion, garlic and ginger, etc.)
2. Preheat a wok over medium-high heat.  Add the oil and allow it to warm up.
3. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry until they are light brown, about 5 minutes (yes, I used a timer)
4. Add the curry powder and mix with the vegetables.
5. Quickly thereafter, add the chicken and sear the meat on all sides (if possible, if not, sear on as many sides as possible)
6. Add salt to the mixture.
7. Add the coconut milk and allow it to come to a boil.  Turn down the heat and allow the chicken, vegetables, spices and coconut milk simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Remove the chicken pieces using a slotted spoon.  Leave as much of the ginger and other vegetables in the soupy mixture remaining as possible.

Chicken cooked and removed from wok

8. Add the tomatoes and cilantro (the recipe calls to do this after the sauce thickens, but I wanted the tomatoes to cook down a bit) to the soupy mixture.
9. Raise the heat to medium,  and allow the sauce to reduce until it thickens to your desired consistency.

Sauce thickening with tomato and cilantro included

10. Add the chicken back into the wok and serve over cooked white rice immediately.

Final product in the wok!

Final product with cooked white rice

This was a fabulous weeknight meal and a great way to use of the massive amount of chicken I had leftover from earlier this week.  To make this faster, prepare the spice blend ahead of time and if possible and chop the onion and garlic ahead of time (but only a night in advance, of course, if you chop everything the day of that is better).  Leave the garlic to a quick chop in a blender/food processor. I ended up doubling the recipe (used the the single serving of garlic and ginger though) to accommodate the amount of chicken, which is great for leftovers (hopefully my new colleagues don't mind the smell of Indian food!).

Hope you enjoy this new recipe! Cheers!