My mom was super sweet to start a handwritten recipe book some years ago. My constant nagging at her to do so had NOTHING to do with it. Since it's a milestone, Blog 10, it had to be something special, so here goes, Ode to Amma, Amma's Chicken Curry!
I always felt it was a daunting task to attempt what my mom cooked. The long list of ingredients, and not to mention that one time I tried to write down the steps to a recipe, I had "Add salt" for every other step. But there's a reason why moms are amazing, the clear concise steps she had written down were easy to follow. Plus, now that I had a better idea on what the different spices were, making the curry was a breeze. Rest assured in my recipe, I have links to the spices, feel free to shower me with chocolates when you see me.
David walked in as I started cooking and I made a mental note to tone down the spice level. I decided to use yellow onions instead of red, reduced the amount of chilli powder the recipe called for and amped up the amount of coconut milk. Just as a backup, I also had vanilla ice-cream on hand.
In my humble opinion, curry goes really well with a steaming plate of rice. But, it's so versatile that it goes hand in hand with naan, roti and even pancakes. And don't go "Eeewww!" until you've tried that last combo. The sweetness from the pancakes with the spiciness of the curry is a pairing made in heaven, like bacon dipped in melted chocolate or peanut butter on a banana or strawberries and balsamic vinegar. OK, i could go on and on with an endless list of weird but oh-so-good flavor combos.
The key to a good curry is patience, leave it on medium low and let chemistry do its thing. Intensifying the spices, infusing the meat with the complex flavors and generally making magic. Trust me, that hour of simmering is well worth the wait. As you break apart the warm garlic naan and sop up the curry coupled with a piece of tender chicken and potato, you nod your head and agree, NOTHING beats Amma's recipe!