Chicken Curry

I have India to thank for my love of food and creativity in the kitchen. Four years ago I had the incredible opportunity to travel to India and serve the communities there for a month. That time was life changing for me in many ways. I had never experienced a culture like that before – so rich with color, flavor, scent, and tradition, so bold in every way. It can be challenging to find the right words to fully describe India and the experiences it gave me. “Starstruck,” I think may be the word that comes closest to capturing the enormity of how India made me feel.

India was glaringly different from my world. Shockingly loud, flavorful, and aromatic.  Everything made me sweat – the heat, the food, the absence of my comfort zone! Over the course of thirty days I consumed copious amounts of curry – so hot you’d think you were dying and so buttery you were sure you’d made it to heaven. The red dirt and curry-stained hands eventually washed away, but with one whiff, this recipe transports me back to warm breezes, tangy mangos, and where my love of food and the cultures who made them all began.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 5 chicken breasts
• Salt to taste
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 TBS Ghee or butter
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 6 oz. can Tomato Paste
• 1 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk
• 2 TBS Curry Powder (or more to taste)
• Cilantro
• Jasmine Rice

1. In a large sauté pan or dutch oven, melt 1 TBS ghee and begin to saute garlic over medium heat.
2. Cube chicken breasts into bit-sized pieces.
3. Once the garlic has browned, add cubed chicken and salt and saute, browning the outsides of the chicken pieces.
4. Add Garam Masala and continue to saute chicken until nearly fully cooked.
5. Scoop in tomato paste and coconut milk. Stir until paste and milk have combined and coated the chicken. Add curry powder is evenly distributed and chicken is well coated. Add in 1 TBS ghee or butter to finish off the curry sauce.
6. Serve over jasmine rice or cauliflower rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.