Bowl of Chicken Coconut Curry
(click to enlarge)

Chicken Coconut Curry


Africa, West   -   Nonoh-Coconatii Curry
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 main
***
1-1/3 hrs
Yes		 This flavorful curry is quite easy to make - except the part about fresh coconut - or you could use a smaller amount of dry grated (see Note-3). The author didn't specify region, but the Hausa name "nonoh" for yogurt pins it to West Africa.

1
6
1/2
1/2
11
6
1
1/3
3
14
1
1
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#
oz
in
t
oz
oz

c

oz
t
c
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Chicken (1)
Onion
Ginger
Salt
Tomato
Bell Pepper
Habanero (2)
Coconut, fresh (3)  
Scallions
Coconut Milk
Curry Powder (4)
Yogurt
-- Garnish
Mint Leaves
Prep   -   (30 min)
  1. Cut CHICKEN into large bite-sized pieces if boneless. or as noted in Note-1.
  2. Chop ONION small. Slice GINGER very thin crosswise, cut the slices into threads and chop fine. Mix all with Salt.
  3. Chop TOMATOES small. Dice BELL PEPPER small. Slit HABANERO open lengthwise. Mix all.
  4. Grate Coconut and stir into Tomato Mix.
  5. Chop SCALLIONS small.
  6. Chop MINT for garnish.
Run   -   (50 min)
  1. In a large coverable sauce pan or sauté pan mix Chicken, Onion Mix and Coconut Milk. Bring to a boil uncovered (coconut milk boils over like cow milk).
  2. Stir in Tomato Mix and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer slowly until chicken is done (about 30 minutes). Stir once or twice, and if it's getting too sharp for you, pull out the Habanero.
  3. Remove Chicken and most of the vegetables and keep warm.
  4. Boil the sauce down to the consistency you want (generally not too thick for serving with rice).
  5. Mix in Yogurt and Scallions. Bring up to a simmer gently over moderate heat. At this point you may pour the sauce over the chicken in a serving bowl, or return the chicken to the pan and mix with the sauce.
  6. Garnish with chopped mint leaves and serve hot with plenty of steamed long grain rice.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      Weight is without bones, fat or skin. I prefer thigh / leg meat, but in Africa a whole 2-1/2 pound chicken would be skinned, excess fat removed and be chopped into pieces. For bone-in chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings) use about 1-1/2 pounds, skin the joints and chop in half.

  2. Habanero Chilis:

      In West Africa, the Caribbean Habanero / Scotch Bonnet chilis dominate the hot chili segment. One Habanero split open make this curry very moderately sharp by Southern California standards, but if you or your guests are from the Frozen North you may want to pull it out early. For details see our African Chilis page.

  3. Coconut:

      See our Coconuts page for details on using fresh coconut. Alternatively you can use 1/4 cup of dried finely shredded coconut and soak it in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain. DO NOT use sweetened Coconut or Coconut Milk.

  4. Curry Powder:

      African curry powder is highly variable but usually uses more black pepper than in Anglo-India Madras Curry Powder, but that powder could be used. Here's a typical recipe for West African Curry Powder.
  5. 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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