Chicken Curry With Cashews

When I was pregnant I craved a lot of Indian food, particularly curries. At first I was eating a lot of take-away but as my list of food restrictions got longer and longer and the weekly bill for eating take-away got larger and larger I started making a lot of the meals at home, favoring recipes by my pals Madhur Jaffrey and Julie Sahni and the rest from a beautiful cookbook called The Food of India. Kalustyans was my favorite stop and shop for spices and staples; that is until I became full preggers and stopped fitting in their narrow aisles (BAH! just kidding). Anyway, I made so many Indian inspired meals and we ate so many leftovers, endless leftovers (because I still haven't figured out how to cook for just two and not forty seven) that my husband finally asked if we could maybe not have so much Indian food for a while. Apparently he meant a long while because our daughter is now 19 months and he still isn't quite ready to start having curries again. But he has been out of town, which means that the babe and I have been partying like it was 1999 and feasting like queens on curries, and chutney, and naans OH MY!

This curry was one of the easier ones I've made and while I can't vouch for whether it is an authentic Indian curry I can vouch for the outcome-which was quite delicious. I did make a few modifications; I opted for roasted unsalted cashews because I love the way roasting nuts brings out their flavor and I thought that would be nice in the curry. I cut down on the cayenne, only adding the tiniest pinch because of the baby and also because I am becoming wimpy in my old age and am not tolerating spicy foods as well as I used to; like in my twenties when I used to challenge my friend Russell to eat mouth searing vindaloos just to see who would cry first. I used a curry powder blend that I buy in bulk from my beloved spice store and one that I am very familiar with. Not all curry powders are the same and I think that may have been a mistake that a few of the people who reviewed this recipe and weren't impressed with the results made, not that I'm an expert on curry powder, just my opinion here. I also cut down on the butter because WOW 1/2 stick seemed like a whole hell of a lot of butter to me. I used closer to 2 tablespoons maybe 2-1/2 but certainly not 1/2 a stick. Also next time, I'll make sure to really mince the ginger well, the baby had a few instances of raspberry blowing in which she sprayed mouthfuls of curry everywhere but mostly on me while she tried to get rid of the large ginger pieces stuck to her tongue. She's so cute. NOT! I opted to use fresh tomatoes which I seeded and diced myself rather than use canned tomatoes because what the heck, we're in the middle of summer and tomatoes are abundant and delicious and I don’t HAVE to use canned right now. I also added more cilantro than the recipe asked for and salted and peppered the dish to my taste preferences, which is a lot less heavy on the salt than most folks would probably like, but I have to watch the salt because I am prone to kidney stones, OUCH!

From Epicurious

Chicken Curry with Cashews

In this recipe adapted from Charmaine Solomon's Complete Asian Cookbook, ground cashews thicken the curry and give it a rich, nutty flavor. Both roasted and raw cashews work well, so use whichever you prefer.

• 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
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces
• 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 cup cashews (1/4 lb)
• 3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• Accompaniment: cooked basmati or jasmine rice
• Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

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. (If making ahead, see cooks' note, below.)

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.

Cooks' note: Curry, without yogurt and cashews, can be made 5 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat before stirring in yogurt and ground cashews.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Gourmet January 2005

Written by Deb on August 30, 2005 11:05 PM