So, last week we pretty much ate the whole hog in the Black Bean Soup with Chorizo, Ham, and Bacon. I took a survey and found that the pigs are voting with the Chick Fil-A cows, 100 out of 100 pigs say, “Eat more chicken.”
Okay, no problem. I can do the chicken thing. Deciding which chicken recipe to use was a challenge, though. Note to self: don’t look at Pinterest or food blogs when hungry.
Whenever I think of chicken I often think of a woman with whom I used to work, Deanna. She was from Indonesia and sometimes would bring in a big crock pot full of the most wonderful curried chicken thighs and potatoes. However, when I would ask her for the recipe she would always dodge the question by saying, “Oh, it’s not hard. You just cook the chicken with a few spices.” Sigh.
Because I have been in a serious mood for curry, I decided to make up my own recipe. I read a number of curry recipes, then sat down with my spices and started sniffing. A couple of them smelled deliciously perfect for the flavors I wanted. I filled in the rest of the recipe with my imagination and some random ‘two cents worth’ of advice from commentors on other blogs and cooking sites. If this ends up not being a true curry, blame Deanna because she wouldn’t share her recipe. Are you out there, Deanna? Do you see what you have done to me? Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I had to struggle and figure things out for myself. AND THIS RECIPE IS DELICIOUS!!!!!!
I used chicken thighs and legs in this curry because they are more flavorful than chicken breasts. BUT, I am a white meat fan when it comes to eating chicken fried or baked. If I can’t have white meat, then I’ll go for the legs. No legs? Umm, no thanks, I’ll pass. Let’s see, that would make thighs my 6th favorite part of a chicken, with the following being ahead of thighs: breast, wing, leg, back, and gizzard. My Granny taught me all about eating chicken gizzards, but only fried.
One of my favorite things to use when making curry is ghee. Ghee is simply unsalted butter that has been clarified and then cooked slowly until the solids take on a nutty brown flavor. So delicious. When I make ghee, I usually make about a pint of it and store it in the refrigerator. It keeps for months. Find the easy instructions here on Chicken Coconut Curry.
Curried Chicken and Butternut Squash
Ingredients
- 8 pieces of chicken, I used thighs and legs
- 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, cut lengthwise into halves, then cut lengthwise into scant 1/4" wide slices
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1- inch nub of ginger, grated
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 ounce) coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Rinse chicken pieces with water. Pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat ghee or oil in a large dutch oven. Brown the chicken in the hot ghee or oil on all sides. Remove chicken from Dutch oven and set aside.
- Add the onion, red curry paste, garam masala, cardamom, and cumin to the Dutch oven. Stir to mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Stir and cook for about another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Add chicken back to Dutch oven and stir gently. Bring ingredients to a simmer; put lid on pot and cook over medium heat until squash is tender and chicken is cooked through. This will take approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Taste to correct seasonings.
- Serve with basmati rice and a leafy green vegetable such as spinach.
Notes
Nutrition
Peel the butternut squash and cut off the ends.
Now dice it into bite-sized chunks.
Slice a large onion in half lengthwise.
Cut each half lengthwise into scant 1/4-inch slices.
They should look something like this. Separate them along the ring lines.
Grate the ginger. I used a microplane. It worked great!
Rinse, pat dry, then season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
This is ghee. It is so wonderful, giving a nutty, buttery taste to the curry. Do yourself a favor and take the time to make this. It stores for months in the refrigerator. Also, ghee is appearing in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores where you would find butter.
Brown the chicken on both sides in the ghee or oil. Remove from oil and set aside.
Put the onions, red curry paste, garam masala, cumin, and coriander in the Dutch oven.
Stir things around well and cook over medium high-medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Stir in the butternut squash. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste.
Pour the tomatoes into the pot.
Add the chicken stock or broth.
Stir everything together then add the chicken. Bring the contents to a simmer. Cover pot and continue to simmer contents for about 15-20 minutes until the squash is tender and the chicken has cooked through.<
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Serving idea: Serve with basmati rice and perhaps some cooked greens such as spinach.
- Fusion Friday @ Jennifer Cook’s
- Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
This looks divine! I’ll have to come back and make this one–these flavors are right up my alley (and I’m a dark meat girl, too =).
Hi Terri! I’m having fun browsing your recipes. PLUS, I’ve just awarded you with something special on my recipe blog. Check it out here: http://www.countryatheartrecipes.com – Enjoy!
Here I am again… commenting about past posts as I am catching up on my regular blog reading.
WOW! I couldn’t believe your little finger story(ies) from a few posts back! I get goosebumps reading things like that- how you were posting about your finger the same day your daughter had the experience with her finger. Those are tender mercies that allow us to see the Lord’s hand in our lives. At least, that’s how I see it!
The onions in this post make my mouth water! I love sauteed (is that how you spell it?) onions. To the max. Why is it that I’m always hungry when I check your blog? 🙂
Hi Terri! {I see Deborah got here first, but I enjoy your blog so much, I NEEDED name you in the top 5} Check out Stella B’s today for a little blip of appreciation:)
Jenna–Come on back, make this curry, and let me know how it works for you!
Deborah–Thanks for the award. That was a fun thing to wake up to this morning.
Kristen–Yeah, I’m always playing catch-up too on reading blog posts. I never seem to hit things ‘in the moment’. Yes, you spelled ‘sauteed’ correctly. It would have been underlined with that annoying red squiggle if had misspelled it. And, eat those onions; they’re good for you! Then, one last thing, yes, I get goosebumps too thinking about how the Lord is involved in all of the details of our lives.
Stealla B–Thanks for the award. I appreciate the ‘little blip’. LOL. You are such a good supporter.
This chicken curry looks absolutely delicious. I love the addition of the butternut squash and then all of those wonderful spices – heaven!
Hi Terri,
Your presentation of your Curried Chicken and Butternut Squash is beautiful. This is a wonderful recipe that we will really enjoy and will be making very soon! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
MJ–Thank you and welcome! It’s nice to have you here. Thanks for dropping by.
Miz Helen–Thank you. I love coming to visit your blog for Full Plate Thursday. There are so many great recipes!
So I’m going to have to try this one soon. Are they still selling butternut squash in the stores even though it’s getting close to out of season? Cause it would be a tragedy if I have to wait until next fall for some decent squash. P.S. if you ever make something like this again let me know so I can come over.
Katie–yes, they still have butternut squash in the store. Most stores put it somewhere over around the onions and potatoes. AND I have seen it already peeled and cut into cubes both in grocery stores (Harmons) and at Costco. Yes, I will call you the next time I am making something like this. I’ll even save some for you or send some home with you. Knuckle head. Oh, and here is a giant secret…you can even make this without the butternut squash. Tell no one.
I ran across your recipe after hunting down many. I omitted the tomato paste (none in the pantry) but used fresh tomato. It’s simmering on the stove as I type, so far, from sampling, its delicious, Thank you! BTW, I used a little toasted coconut from Trader Joes as a garnish because I like a little twist of sweet. YUM
Hey…I’m glad you found me! The toasted coconut sounds like a great idea. I wish that we had Trader Joes here in Utah. I am so jealous of all the people who have one near them. My daughter lived in Maryland for a while and loved shopping at Trader Joes. Maybe someday.
saw this recipe awhile back on TPW and tried it out. we loved it, and i’m making it again tonight. since my fam isn’t crazy about diced tomatoes, i omitted them, but i’m sure for tomato lovers it’s a great addition! thanks for working on this recipe!
Joanna, thank you so much for dropping by to let me know how well this recipe is working for you and your family. It makes me happy to know that someone is putting it to good use.
Very good recipe! I made it tonight. The only thing : for me, the 6 oz of tomato paste was too much… Made the whole dish acidic. I added some honey, raisins and some ground cinnamon to tone it down. Delicious dinner, thank you!