Restaurant Quality Chicken Madras Curry

Mr. D and I love Indian food! We've scoured the city of Chicago, from Devon st to downtown, for the best take-out and dine-in options. Unfortunately, our go-to choice is a budget buster and happens to be right near our apartment.

When I began my journey through the kitchen I knew I needed master Indian curries that made me think I was eating take-out from India House. After finding impossible looking recipes on the internet I sought out my mom's friend, C. She cooks wonderful curries and gave me a great recipe for Coconut Chicken Curry that resembled my Chicken Madras order from India House. This seemed like something I could do and after seeing Mr. D's reaction, it will definitely be a repeat recipe. I changed C's recipe a bit by taking a few liberties with the spices and decided to try out my new slow-cooker.

First I chopped up 1 large onion, peeled 5 cloves of garlic, and chopped and de-seeded 4 dried, hot red chillies.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a large sauce pan. Fry onions on high for a few minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, the minced garlic, 1-2 inches fresh minced ginger root, and chopped chillies.

Cook for another 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally. Add 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon ground corriander. Turn the heat to low after another minute and add one can of coconut milk.

Take in the fragrant aromas and continue cooking while you prepare your chicken. I used a package of boneless chicken thighs (8 pieces). Pour sauce into your slow-cooker and cover for later.

Add 1-2 tablespoons oil to your saucepan and heat on medium. Add chicken thighs. Season with 2 t. curry powder, 2 t. ground cumin, 2 t. ground coriander, and cayenne pepper per your taste preference. Brown chicken until it turns white then add it to the curry sauce in the slow cooker.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours. When its finished skim some of the fat off the top and stir curry. I served my curry with some left over basmati rice and naan I bought at Trader Joe's.

My Chicken Madras was a HUGE success with Mr. D! Next time I would half the amount of chicken or double the amount of sauce I made. The best thing about curry is your can customize the spices and hotness to taste preference. You can also make extra sauce to save for a later date. I'm officially sold on the slow-cooker curry!

Chicken Madras Curry

Prep Time: 20 mins      Cook Time: 7-8 hours        Serves: 2
20 mins

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

• 1 large yellow onion
• 4-6 cloves of garlic
• 1-2 inches ginger root
• 4 dried red chillies - chopped and deseeded
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground corriander
• 1 can coconut milk (light is fine also)

For the Chicken:

• 4 boneless chicken thighs
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust for preference of spice)

Directions

For the sauce:

1. Chop onion.
2. Peel garlic cloves
3. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan.
4. Add onion and cook on high for 2-3 minutes.
5. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, ginger, and chillies.
6. Add turmeric, cumin, and corriander.
7. Turn the heat to low after another minute and add one can of coconut milk.
8. Cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes. Then pour curry sauce into your slow cooker.

For the chicken:

1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in your saucepan.
2. Add chicken.
3. Season with curry powder, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper.
4. Cook until all sides are white, then add to the slow cooker pot.
5. Cook the curry on low for 7-8 hours. When done, skin fat from the top and serve over basmati rice.