Dish of Chicken in Coconut Cream
(click to enlarge)

Chicken in Coconut Cream


India (north)
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2 main
**
1-1/4 hrs
Better		 Softly spiced and cream color, this recipe should work for guests unfamiliar with Indian food. In the northern style, browning is avoided to keep the color light. It's also a bit rich (see Note-3). Serve with plenty of basmati rice.

1
4
----
4
6
1
----
8
3
1/4
----
1/4
1/4
1/2
----
2
8
----
#
oz
---


in
---

cl
in
---
t
t
t
---
T
oz
--
Chicken meat (1)
Onion
-- Aromatic mix
Cardamoms, green
Cloves whole
Cinnamon stick
-- Almond mix
Almonds, blanched  
Garlic
Ginger root
-- Turmeric mix
Turmeric
Chili Powder (2)
Salt
----------
Oil
Coconut Cream (3)
-- Garnish
Cilantro leaves
PREP   -   (20 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into bite size pieces.
  2. Chop ONION fine.
  3. Lightly crack Cardamom Pods and mix with Cloves and Cinnamon Stick.
  4. Grind ALMONDS to powder. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice GINGER very thin and chop fine. Mix all, and if you are able, pound in a mortar to make smooth.
  5. Mix Turmeric, Chili Powder and Salt.
RUN   -   (40 min minimum)
  1. In a large sauté pan, heat Oil. Stir in Aromatics mix and fry for a moment, then stir in Onions. Fry stirring until Onion is translucent but, no color.
  2. Stir in Almond mix and fry stirring for half a minute.
  3. Lower heat, add Chicken and cook for a few minutes turning a couple times until it has completely lost its raw color.
  4. Stir in Coconut Cream and Turmeric mix. Cover and simmer slowly for 30 minutes.
  5. Check Salt. If you have time, let it sit an hour or two and reheat - it improves with a little aging.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      Weight given is for skinless boneless chicken meat. Chicken is always stripped of skin and all removable fat for Indian recipes. In India chicken breast meat would be used to keep the color light, but American breast meat is dry and lacks flavor, so I use thigh meat.

  2. Chili Powder:

      Kashmir chili powder is appropriate here, or a similar rather mild chili powder. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  3. Coconut Cream:

      If you have only coconut milk, avoid shaking the can and ladle off the top layers to get all the thick cream. Keep spooning until you have 8 ounces. This will be a little less rich than with all cream.
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste

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