Cilantro Chicken Curry
I have no access to a slow cooker for two weeks as we live out of holiday rentals (although a slow cooker would be a great addition!)
I am soaking up the landscape of the Pacific North West and marveling at the vastness of sea and mountains which lay around me. In reference to last weeks post, my cooking routines have changed markedly as we revel in the treats of vacation time and I return from my daily morning run to Pike Place Market with fresh fish for dinner. (And a cheeky crab cocktail for breakfast…)
Which brings me to the second recipe I picked out from The Bread and Buddha. Without access to my slow cooker I prepped ahead to have recipes blog-ready to share today. It is from one of my favorite Indian chefs, Madhur Jaffrey, who I watched on television throughout the 1980’s and thumbed through her cookbooks in my mom’s kitchen.
This recipe calls for a LOT of cilantro, which makes the dish. Where Pam at The Bread and Buddha simplified it from Jaffrey’s original recipe, I went a little further. The ingredients remain the same however I cut down the prep time by blending the cilantro – leaf and stem – in a blender to form a paste.
The chicken is soft and aromatic with a dark green sauce flavored with curry spices. Great with Indian naan breads, roti or rice.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp / 2 inch piece ginger, minced
- 1 tsp / 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced
- 2 lbs chicken thighs, skinless, boneless
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 6 oz cilantro (2 medium bunches, including stems)
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- heat the oil and sauté the ginger, garlic and jalapeno for 2 minutes over a medium heat
- transfer the ginger mixture to the slow cooker
- sprinkle the chicken with the salt and cayenne, cumin, coriander & turmeric, and blend and place in the slow cooker
- in a small blender chop the cilantro with the water and lemon juice (or if you don't have a blender you can roughly chop the coriander and stir into the slow cooker with the water and lemon juice)
- transfer to the slow cooker
- stir, cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hour or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- *substitute the cayenne, cumin, coriander & turmeric for our Indian Dal Slow Cooker Spice Blend
“Here is the beauty and stark grandeur of a North that has no harshness. In this, more than in all else, lies the appeal of Puget Sound.
– On Puget Sound, By Robert Walkinshaw
