Submitted by: Richard Hammond
Servings: Serves 8 as an Entree
Ingredients: CHICKEN CURRY INGREDIENTS:
8 ripe nectarines, washed + 2 limes
6 lbs. chicken breast halves with ribs and skin
(2) 14 oz. cans Thai Kitchen coconut milk
2 large Vidalia or Maui onions
6 oz. piece of fresh ginger
2 organic celery hearts, washed
2 heads of garlic
4 whole dried Dundicutt peppers, crushed
½ cup mild curry powder
1/3 cup chicken fat or schmaltz
1 large bunch cilantro, washed & spun-dry
¼ oz. fresh bay leaves and sea salt to taste
PUMPKIN COCONUT CHAPATI (“flat bread” to serve with the curry):
2/3 cup organic pumpkin purée
1 ½ cups organic shredded dried coconut
½ cup coconut flour
¼ cup arrowroot
¼ cup cold water + 2 large cage-free eggs
1 ½ tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tbsp. garam masala
1 ½ tsp. sea salt
Coconut oil for frying
High quality curry powders, garam masala, fresh ground cayenne and Dundicutt peppers are available online at: www.penzeys.com
Instructions: PREPARING THE CURRY:
A couple days before service, poach the chicken breasts in a large stockpot in gently simmering water for 1 hour. Cover the pot, turn off the heat and allow the chickens to cool to room temp or nearly so. Shred the meat into a covered container and refrigerate until ready for use and return the skin and bones to the poaching liquid.
Place the stockpot over medium heat, bring to a boil and skim off any foam that rises to the top. Turn the heat to low, cover the pot and start to gently simmer this broth. Check the temp for the first hour or so to make sure the broth does not boil or simmer too rapidly.
Peel and chop the onions and place them into a large covered container, saving the onion trimmings. If the outside ribs of the celery are very stringy, peel the outside a little with a vegetable peeler, cut both celery heads into ¼” slices on the bias and reserve the peelings, tops and root ends. Add the sliced celery to the diced onions, cover and refrigerate this container.
Keep the vegetable scraps refrigerated in a plastic bag. After the broth has simmered for 8 hours or even overnight, add the onion and celery trimmings and continue simmering the broth for another hour or so.
When the broth is done, strain it through a colander into a large mixing bowl. Rinse out the stockpot and pour the broth back and forth between the pot and the bowl to cool it down. When it is room temp, strain it through a fine sieve into a container and refrigerate. Any time after the broth has chilled, remove the layer of chicken fat and reserve in the refrigerator.
THE DAY BEFORE THE PARTY:
I think curry is better the next day so make the curry the day before and reheat it with the fresh nectarines adding the fresh chopped cilantro right before serving. Then you will only need to fry the chapati on party night, making your prep much less stressful!
Refrigerate the cans of coconut milk for about an hour, open them and scoop or strain out all the coconut cream at the top into a medium prep bowl. Discard the leftover liquid.
Place about three cups of the broth into a small saucepan, add the bay leaves and simmer uncovered until reduced to about one cup. Meanwhile, prep the remaining vegetables:
Use a sharp teaspoon to peel the ginger, pare off a thin slice on one side to make a flat bottom. Lay the ginger on this edge and slice on the bias. Stack up a few of these slices into several piles, cut them into julienne and then cross-cut into small dice.
Break up the heads of garlic, smash and peel them. Crush them on the cutting board with your chef knife or large cleaver and then finely chop.
Place a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add about a third of a cup of the reserved chicken fat. Add the onions and celery, a little sea salt and sweat for 10 minutes adding the ginger and garlic next.
Sweat for another 5 to 10 minutes, stir in the curry powder and the crushed chiles. Dundicutt peppers are not as hot as a habañero but still pretty hot, so add more or less to your taste or just leave them out entirely. Season with a little more salt then raise the heat a little and sauté for a few more minutes until the curry is fragrant, stirring constantly.
Remove the bay leaves from the broth reduction and pour it through a tea strainer into the Dutch oven. Stir and adjust the heat to simmer the curry paste until the vegetables are just tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool down to room temp. Add the cold poached chicken with any juices that have accumulated. Lastly stir in the coconut cream and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Transfer the curry to a large container and refrigerate until about an hour before dinner…
TO MAKE THE CHAPATI:
Add the cold water to a large stainless mixing bowl and whisk in the arrowroot. Whisk in the eggs and add the seasonings and cayenne if desired, stir in the pumpkin purée and mix in the coconut and coconut flour. Add a splash more water if needed to form thick dough. Wrap the mixing bowl with saran and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
ABOUT AN HOUR BEFORE THE PARTY:
If you don’t have any nectarines, you may substitute 4 or 5 large ripe mangoes or 1 large cut-up golden pineapple; even golden delicious or granny smith apples will work well…
Cut the nectarines in half and dice them into a large bowl. Squeeze the two limes over the fruit and transfer the refrigerated curry back into the Dutch oven. Probably the curry is too thick so thin it a little with some extra chicken broth from the ‘fridge.
Place the pot over low heat, cover and warm it up slowly, stirring occasionally. When it is steaming hot, stir in the nectarines with the limejuice and cover the pot again.
Turn the heat down to very low or move the Dutch oven to a warming burner to hold the curry while you get ready to fry the chapati (you may turn off the burner by the time you’re finished making the first eight pancakes; the residual heat will keep the curry hot for a good while).
First place the cilantro on a cutting board lining the stems up all on one side. Using a very sharp knife, chop the stems, fold the leaves over the stems and chop again. Leave the chopped cilantro right on your board.
To make the chapati, place about a teaspoon of coconut oil for each pancake in a 10” non-stick Calphalon or Anulon skillet over medium heat. Add 2 – 3 tablespoons of dough to a saran covered tortilla press, cover with more plastic wrap and press into about a 6” pancake.
You may also do this with a rolling pin, pressing the dough between two layers of plastic, but the tortilla press is much faster.
Open the press, peel off the top plastic (re-use this piece) and pick up the bottom piece of saran and drape the pancake over your fingers (palm up) and carefully lay the pancake into the hot oil as you flick your hand up and out of the way.
Control the heat so as not to burn the chapati, frying until well set, then flip with a large pancake turner and cook for another minute or so.
Lay the finished chapati on a large baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven set to 180 degrees. Keep the 8 dinner plates in this oven on a lower rack to warm the plates also.
Repeat this process until you have 12 or so chapati (for seconds) and keep the second layer of pancakes separated with parchment to prevent them sticking together in the warming oven.
When you are ready to serve, lay one chapati on a heated dinner plate, place a couple ladles of curry on top of the flat bread and garnish the whole plate with several tablespoons of the chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with a knife and fork.
I think this is my favorite. BTW, without the spice,,, pumpkin pancakes with maple syrup are to die for… yum yum…