Mango Chicken Curry




If you aren't accustomed to curries, this is the perfect one to start with. The familiar flavors mesh perfectly. It's a bright, fun meal that's a little out of the ordinary.
You can have the mangos cooked into the curry or on the side. I like them fresh on the side, but both ways are wonderful!

Chicken

Rinse and pat dry chicken. 

Get a plastic bag or a piece of plastic wrap.  Rub chicken with 1 T of the olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. 

Close the bag and let sit (1)15 minutes at room temperature.


Rice
Get this going next. It takes a while to cook.

Chicken

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat. 

Add chicken breasts and sear one minute or until lightly browned.  Turn the chicken over and sear the other side an additional minute or so.  Turn the heat down to low/medium. 

Turn chicken over again, cover and cook 5 minutes.  Flip and finish cooking if it’s not done. 

Set aside to rest before cutting.  Save the pan drippings.


Spices

Crush the jalapenos and garlic in a garlic press and measure the dry spices. 

In a separate container squeeze and measure the lemon juice. 

Chop the cilantro.

Open the cans of chicken broth and coconut milk. (2)Set all aside.

In the pan used for the chicken reheat the drippings over medium heat. 

Add the jalapenos, garlic, and spices.  Cook 30 seconds or so. 

Stir in the coconut milk and chicken broth.  Heat 5 minutes.  Do not boil. Cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Add the chicken, salt, lemon juice, and chopped cilantro.  Heat another minute or so.

 

 

 

Serving

Peel and chop the mangos and set aside.

 

In four serving bowls divide the rice. Pour the chicken curry over the rice. On the side, serve plain yogurt topped with fresh chopped mangos.


Problems

Overcooking
Spices: Don't overcook the spices, they will become bitter.
Coconut Milk: Don't boil the coconut milk, it will have a poor taste.
Fresh Ingredients: Don't cook the lemon juice or cilantro for very long, they loose their fresh flavor pretty quickly.


 

Mango Chicken Curry

Rice
1 t butter
1 c jasmine or basmati fragant rice
1/2 t kosher salt
1 1/2 c water

Chicken
1 T olive oil
2 (about 1 pound) chicken breasts ((1) thawed if frozen)
½ t salt
¼ t fresh ground pepper

Curry
1 T olive oil
2 jalepenos
3 cloves garlic
¼ t cayenne pepper
½ t ground coriander
½ t ground cumin
¼ t mustard seeds
1 t kosher salt
3 T lemon juice
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
½ c low sodium chicken broth
¼ c chopped cilantro

Yogurt
2 c plain yogurt
1 c fresh mangos

Chicken
Rinse and pat dry chicken.  Get a plastic bag or a piece of plastic wrap.  Rub chicken with 1 T of the olive oil and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.  Close the bag and let sit (1)15 minutes at room temperature.

Rice
Assemble and measure all of the ingredients. It is a quick process and you don't want to burn anything while you are away measuring.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over med/high heat. Until it is shimmering, but not smoking. Add the rice, stir well and cook 1-2 minutes. Adding the rice to the oil before adding the water coats each individual grain helping them not stick together. It also speeds the cooking process. Don't cook too long or it will taste a bit fried.
Increase heat to high and add the water and salt. Stir briefly. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to the lowest setting. I have a settings 1-9 on my stove and a low setting below the 1. I use the 1 to cook the rice not the low. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 more minutes. Do not remove the lid or stir at any point! Stirring makes the rice starchy and sticky. Removing the lid lets out steam that is needed to fully cook the rice.

Fluff the rice gently with a fork. A fork won't smash the rice as easily as a spoon will.
Serve immediately.

Chicken
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat.  Add chicken breasts and sear one minute or until lightly browned.  Turn the chicken over and sear the other side an additional minute or so.  Turn the heat down to low/medium.  Turn chicken over again, cover and cook 5 minutes.  Flip and finish cooking if it’s not done.  Set aside to rest before cutting.  Save the pan drippings.

Curry
Crush the jalapenos and garlic in a garlic press and measure the dry spices.  In a separate container squeeze and measure the lemon juice.  Chop the cilantro. Open the cans of chicken broth and coconut milk. (2)Set all aside.

In the pan used for the chicken reheat the drippings over medium heat.  Add the jalapenos, garlic, and spices.  Cook 30 seconds or so.  Stir in the coconut milk and chicken broth.  Heat 5 minutes.  Do not boil. Cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken, salt, lemon juice, and chopped cilantro.  Heat another minute or so.

Serving
Peel and chop the mangos and set aside.
In four serving bowls divide the rice. Pour the chicken curry over the rice. On the side, serve plain yogurt topped with fresh chopped mangos.

Notes
1. It is important to marinate the chicken in the olive oil for at least 15 minutes. It will make the chicken much more tender, which is especially important if you are cooking it on the stove.
2. I like to pre-measure the ingredients so they are all ready to be added when I need them. It's frustrating to have some the spices cooking or burning while your trying to measure the rest.



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