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Laurel Herman
Chef Culinary Storyteller, Ancestral Foods, Zionist

The Best Ever Chicken Curry, A Delicious Distraction

The Best Ever Chicken Curry Photo by Laurel Hermn
The Best Ever Chicken Curry Photo by Laurel Herman
The Best Ever Chicken Curry Photo by Laurel Herman

I would say when the going gets tough, find some of your favorite people to cook and eat with. More on that at the bottom of this post. This was a collaboration between friends, an organized chaos of well thought out ingredients and a few surprises. We were just blown away at how good this was, hence, time to put it in writing.  I think the stars are fenugreek, cilantro stems, lots of fresh ginger, brown sugar, and lime at the end. This ticks all the boxes for flavor and each bite makes you want more, as each flavor builds upon each other. Measurements are approximate, ( see chefs notes).  This  was made from intuition and love. Feeds 6 maybe if you don’t’ take seconds, ( but you will)  Please see chefs notes at the bottom of the post.

Ingredients:

2 ½ lbs. chicken breast cut in bite sized pieces.

4-5 medium diced fresh tomatoes

1 large onion diced.

2 red peppers sliced thin.

4 cloves of garlic sliced.

½ cup cilantro stems diced, save the tops for garnish.

1 jalapeno pepper sliced thin.

½ large cauliflower cut bite size

1 cup frozen peas

Grapeseed oil (as needed)

1 tablespoon and a bit fenugreek

4 Tablespoon Penzy (or a mild curry) powder

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoon hot curry(hotter than the mild)

2 cans full fat coconut milk.

1 cup chicken broth

Approx. 2-3 teaspoon of brown sugar

Juice of ½ lime plus lime at the table

Whew that seems like a lot of ingredients but trust me it’s worth it.

In a deep pan with a splash of grape seed oil sauté the chicken until just barely color and remove to a bowl.

In the same pan add more oil, on a medium heat, add the onions, garlic and ginger and peppers along with the fenugreek, curry, cilantro stems, and cumin seeds.  You want to really get those aromatics going. Add back in the chicken and stir.

Add in the tomatoes, chicken broth, cauliflower and peas and continue to blend the spices with the aromatics. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add in the coconut milk and at this point if its not got a kick, add in the jalapeno peppers. Cover for about 10 minutes to cook through, then uncover  on low heat to reduce the sauce a further 10 to 20  minutes ish.

Add in the brown sugar and fresh lime, salt and pepper to round out the flavors serve with jasmine or basmati rice.

Chefs notes: play with the spices, add more or less of what ” feels right.”

Even if you eat alone most of the time, like I do, a meal with friends and family is healing.

A message about Antisemitism on social media

I am putting pen to paper so to speak, in response to almost permanently  loosing all my food posts on Instagram due some anti-Semitic person or persons reporting me. I shared Mia Shem’s heartbreaking interview on my stories and all of a sudden every food video I made disappeared. I am close to 70 years old, and that is years of my work. I am not a famous influencer or have a lot of followers, but it means a lot to me. Fortunately now though appeal, it is recovered. This happens to a lot of  Jewish influencers.  My hat is off to them Antisemitism is lurking around every corner.  I’m glad I got to cook with my friends, this recipe is outstanding, it really is. For the moment,  I will concentrate on food and the love of sharing with others. I will  ALWAYS stand for Israel and my people.  I love you, Laurel #AmYisraelChai !

 

About the Author
Laurel Herman is a retired Chef Instructor, Culinary Storyteller, and Culinary Medicine practitioner, residing in Richmond, Virginia. A classically trained chef in the European style( Thames Valley University, London, U.K. and The Institute for Integrative Nutrition). Laurel's passion is bringing people together through food goes back to growing up in a home which welcomed everyone. She has taught at various venues throughout the Richmond area. Now retired, but never from the love of food, active on Instagram Laurel also loves doing her podcast Chai talk with Laurel on Spotify. Her books, The Blissed Out Chef was published in 2015 and the Inner Kitchen, Balboa press in 2011.
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