Chicken curry is a spicy dish that’s great when you’re feeling a cold coming on, and it can also be either an extravagant meal built to impress or a simple dish made in a hurry.
Tonight’s dish is a test of “this is what I have, what can I make?” which goes along with my theme of “it’s after Christmas, I just paid tuition, and I’m broke.” Really, that’s what cooking should be: take what you have and make something tasty.
So boil some water and have a cup of tea, we’re making some college student curry!
What you will need:
-Boneless, skinless chicken breast
-Curry paste or sauce
-Vegetables
-Spices (to taste and preferred intensity)
-Rice
Start off by heating up a frying pan and cooking your chicken breast. In a proper curry, we would actually cook the chicken in the sauce itself, but we’re working in the world of a student, where time is a factor! How you choose to prep the chicken beforehand is largely up to you, but I put some chili powder and black pepper on it and then cubed the chicken.
While your chicken cooks, chop up your vegetables, leaving them reasonably chunky. I used some frozen vegetables, potato, and Spanish onion. Grab your curry base, a paste or sauce, and put it in a bowl. Add some desired spices like ginger, curry powder, cayenne, or garlic powder to add some extra flavour. Put the sauce on medium, add in your vegetables, and bring it to a bubble.
We will be serving our curry on a bed of rice, so put one cup of rice (or more if you really like rice) into a pot with double that much water and a bit of salt. Bring the rice to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat to a simmer, and place the lid on the pot. Let the water boil off without lifting the lid until the rice is fully cooked. If you have issues of the water boiling over, try washing the grains with cold water prior to cooking until the water runs clear.
Once the rice is started and the curry sauce is bubbling away, your chicken should be nearly cooked in the pan. Once cooked, chop it up (if you hadn’t already done so to cook it) and add it to your bubbling sauce. Allow to simmer while the rice cooks, giving any vegetables in the sauce time to cook and become soft.
Once the rice is light and fluffy and the curry cooked, slop them both in a bowl and enjoy!
Remember, this is a cut-back version of a proper curry dish, so have some fun and experiment with it. Use up your old vegetables and that leftover meat in the fridge. If you have the time and creativity, make your own curry base instead of using a sauce or paste.
This is an easy dish to make on your own and can actually impress those who don’t realize just how easy it is to do it.