Creamy Coconut Curry
Photo: Katrin Gilger, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brown the chicken in butter, toast the spices in the same pot, then simmer in full-fat coconut milk until the sauce coats a spoon. Keep it at a low bubble. A hard boil splits the coconut and the sauce goes grainy.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
Pat the chicken dry and toss it with ½ teaspoon of the salt.
Melt the butter in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in one layer until the edges color, about 4 minutes. It will not be cooked through. Lift it out.
Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onion in the same pot until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute.
Stir in the coriander, cumin, turmeric, pepper, and cayenne. Cook 30 seconds, until the spices smell toasted.
Pour in the coconut milk and water. Scrape up the browned bits. Bring it to a bare simmer, then return the chicken and any juices.
Cook uncovered at a low bubble for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce coats a spoon. Do not let it boil hard.
Stir in the garam masala, lime juice, and the rest of the salt. Taste and add more salt if it needs it. Scatter the cilantro over the top and serve with rice.
Notes
Use full-fat coconut milk. The light kind never thickens. If the sauce splits and looks grainy, it boiled: take it off the heat and stir in a spoonful of cold coconut milk. Chicken breast works if you cut the simmer to about 8 minutes, or it dries out. One tablespoon of mild curry powder can stand in for the coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne. A handful of spinach stirred in at the end wilts in about a minute.