Curry Chicken

Tonight I made a recipe I found online that had great reviews. Russ and I both love Indian food, but I have only made Indian style dishes a couple times. When I have searched for recipes before I often find them very complicated or that they contain ingredients that I am not sure I'll be able to locate. When I ran across this recipe for Chicken Curry with Cashews I thought it would be a great one to try. It is not overly involved and contains ingredients that I either have in my pantry or frequently buy.

The recipe starts with sauteing onions, garlic, and ginger. Next you add the spices and then the chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I cut into large chunks. Once the chicken has cooked a little bit you add the tomatoes and cilantro. This simmers until the chicken is cooked through. Once it is done simmering you add the yogurt and cashews. I also added frozen peas at this point which I think made a nice addition. We served it over jasmine rice.

Russ and I both really liked this dish! It smelled wonderful and had great flavor with just enough heat to it from the cayenne. I am not an expert in Indian cooking (or any cooking for that matter) to know how authentic it is, but it tastes very similar to dishes we have eaten at Taj India (our favorite local Indian restaurant). This dish will definitely be repeated in our house. In my search for this recipe I ran across a couple other Indian dishes I'd like to try making, so hopefully a few of those will show up on the blog in the next couple of months. Russ rates the chicken curry a 9.

Chicken Curry with Cashews
(Gourmet January 2005 via Epicurious) Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons salt (I used 1 and 1/2)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces (I used chicken breasts cut into large pieces)
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes (I used no salt added diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup cashews
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Accompaniment: cooked basmati or jasmine rice

Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation: Heat butter in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately low heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring to coat, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, including juice, and cilantro and bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Just before serving: Pulse cashews in a food processor or electric coffee/spice grinder until very finely ground, then add to curry along with yogurt and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.