Curried Chicken

Serves 4

I admit that I am not a big fan of curried foods. There is a particular flavor in the seasonings that I just do not care for. So, I decided to find out what the ingredients are in a basic curry powder and experiment with the spices to make my own blend. This is what I came up with and it is quite good. There are no spices in this recipe that are foreign to most taste buds. I decided to omit a few spices found in traditional curry powder as well as the usual hot peppers since I am not into very spicy foods. You, too, might want to experiment and decide which spices you prefer. Most of the spices you will have on hand, and you can inexpensively purchase others in small amounts from the bulk bins. When you get them home, smell and taste each before adding to the mix, then taste the blend to adjust amounts as needed. Alternately, you can substitute commercial or homemade curry powder, as in the similar and related recipes. Chances are you will love it. If you have a spice grinder, use as many whole spices as you can for optimum flavor and grind them yourself.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs, or other chicken parts as desired
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter, preferably unsalted
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 large tomato, chopped (about 2 cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over high heat. Add the oil. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Place in pan and brown about 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan and add 1 tablespoon butter. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion and sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute. Add all of the spices and sauté about 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Scrape up the browned bits in the bottom of the pan; add the water and scrape more. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan. Cover; braise until the chicken is tender and done, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the yogurt and heat gently for 3 minutes. Serve immediately with hot cooked rice.