Shawyin's Curry Chicken

We are lucky to have a fabulous chef as our neighbor.  She was born in and grew up in India, so she's 

something of an expert when it comes to curries.  

Sometimes she will bring us a container of her lamb shank curry, or chicken curry,

and on those nights, we are reminded just how much we love the complex, deep, aromatic and spicy flavors of Indian cuisine. 

Once the days of social distancing are behind us, Shawyin is going to host a cooking class 

in her kitchen.  In the meantime, she was kind enough to share how she makes her chicken curry!

First I assembled the whole spices: star anise, a cinnamon stick, black Cardamom pods, green Cardamom pods, dried red chilies, and bay leaves. (Eliminate the red chilies unless you want it VERY hot)

I got everything I need at an Indian grocery store:

You will also need about 3 tomatoes, 2-3 red onions, and potatoes or yams if you want to add those (optional).  I also added 1 1/2 green chilies because we like it HOT. Eliminate the green chilies unless you have a very high heat tolerance.

First, heat up about a quarter cup of oil (I use olive oil) in a big heavy pot, like a dutch oven or Le Creuset.  Once the oil is hot (but not burning), put the whole spices in along with the chopped green chili, if using.  I made 5 lbs of chicken and used 1 star anise, 5 black Cardamom and 5 green Cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves.

Stir it all around for a few minutes to bloom the spices and allow them to flavor the oil.

While that's cooking, chop the onions and tomatoes (but make sure to stir the whole spices frequently and don't let them burn!)

After about 5 minutes of the whole spices cooking, add the onion, and cook them over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes, so they get very soft and show good color. 

Onions before being cooked down

Once the onions are browned, add your ground spices:  1 TBS Cumin, 1 TBS red chili pepper, 1 TBS Coriander, 1 Teaspoon Tumeric, 1 Teaspoon Curry powder (optional), 1 TBS Kosher salt. 

(I also added 1/4 teaspoon of Garam Masala a bit later)

At this point, add 2 TBS of Ginger/Garlic paste.  It's sold in Indian grocery stores, but you could add fresh minced ginger and fresh minced garlic (about 1 TBS of each) instead.

 

Mix the ground spices in well and continue cooking them for about 10 minutes.  Keep stirring!  Add water if the mixture gets dry.  The spices need time to "bloom", and release their flavors. This is what my onion-spice looked like after cooking for 15 minutes:

After about 10 minutes, when the spice mixture is very fragrant, add the chopped tomatoes. 

 

Stir and cook the tomatoes for at least 25 minutes.  You want them to almost completely break down and the mixture should almost resemble a paste.  Add water if needed.  Don't let it dry out, and stir frequently!

Shawyin says you must be patient! The Masala (spice base) is critical and it takes time to deepen the flavors! It's all about reducing the mixture so the flavors get very mature. This is what my Masala looked like about 25 minutes after adding the tomatoes and some water:

 While the Masala is reducing, prepare your chicken.  I used 5 lbs. of chicken thighs and legs.  Remove the skin and cut 1 or 2 slashes in the flesh of each piece so the masala marinade can permeate. At this stage, I also added some toasted coconut flakes and toasted White Poppy seeds.  This is totally optional.  I toasted 1 TBS of each a dry pan for a minute, then ground them in a coffee bean grinder. 

 

Ground toasted coconut flakes and white poppy seeds

Add the chicken pieces to the Masala mixture, and coat thoroughly.  Stir and turn the chicken for about 20 minutes.  After about 20 minutes, stir in  approx. 2 cups of hot water and the 1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala, if using.  Stir very well, cover the pot, and allow to cook for about 45 minutes to an hour on low heat. Stir the chicken occasionally so all the pieces are submerged and cook well. If using potatoes, add them to the pot about 20 minutes before the end so they don't get too mushy.  I used Sweet Potatoes. ( I put mine in too early and they basically disintegrated).

 

After about an hour of cooking with the lid on, this is what I got:

  The gravy should be thickened and your entire house should smell incredible! The flavors get better over time, so any leftovers will be even better.  It also freezes very well.

I'm serving with Basmati rice and Naan to sop up all the Masala sauce! Sprinkle with cilantro if you have it. 

Thank you and dhanyavaad, Shawyin!

Tina Reiley-Phillips, art teacher extraordinaire

Everyone has had a few exceptional teachers in their past who've left an indelible mark on their lives.  We come to appreciate these remarkable educators more and more as we age.  

Both my sons were fortunate to have had Tina Reiley-Phillips teach them art at the Harrisburg Academy when they were young boys.  Tina taught Dominick from age 3-8 and Duke from age 4-10.  

I saved every work of art the boys created during those years, and eventually had their favorite pieces matted and framed, all with large white mats and simple black frames.

These works of art now hang all over our house and serve as a constant reminder that art really does matter.  

Tina exposed her students to the masters, teaching her pupils techniques the greatest artists in the world used.  To this day, Duke and Dominick appreciate art more than I ever would have thought possible.

Can you find the influences of Picasso, Matisse, O'Keeffe, Cezanne, Warhol, Degas, da Vinci and Van Gogh in these pieces?   What's truly remarkable is that all these works were done while the boys were in elementary school.

Thank you, Tina.  YOU ROCK!

Death Valley

Still Life

Mona Lisa by Duke

Duke Self Portrait, Blue Period

Out of Africa

Dominick 3rd grade self portrait

Still Life, floral

Dominick 2rd grade self portrait.  When I asked "what is the green thing on your ear?"
he answered "my earring". 

The Eagle has Landed

Still Life

Untitled

Bonanza

Still Life

Duke self portrait

Out on the Farm

Duke Self Portrait

Cluck Cluck

Duke Self Portrait

Jane Booth

I Ching Series: Tossing Coins 1  64 x 54

Part Color Field, part Abstract Expressionist, part Lyrical Abstraction--all wholly uplifting.  Jane Booth's large scale, delightfully happy canvases make me want to dance with wild abandon.  By pouring and pushing (often with her hands) paint directly onto raw, unprepared canvas, Booth achieves a blurred, out of focus effect.  The paint permeates the canvas, absorbs into it, bonds with it, giving the effect of a watercolor--although they are painted with acrylics. The effect of this pure color stain technique is often Helen Frankenthaler-esque:

Sand Hills  66 x 66

Evolve Series: Osmosis 32 x 42

Vessel  78 x 56   Looks like a "feminine Rothko"

Says Booth, "Drawing from vast skies and land that surround my hilltop (Kansas City, MO) rural studio, I'm interested in the space in which everything moves, and how the senses are touched.  I see painting as a snapshot from  the open aperture through which one peers" 

Mount Fuji  62 x 48

River 144 x 60  When this hung in Jane's home, she said they "drank in the blues"

Evolve Series: DNA Showing  54 x 42

Facet Series: Scattered  68 x 68

Often the enormity of Booth's inspiration demands and dictates her size of canvas-such as the large-scale "Channel", which is 142 x 65

Channel

The director of Kansas City Artists Coalition said "These paintings are so luscious you could eat them with a spoon."  I must agree. I'll have a triple scoop, please!

Jane

Click here to see Jane discuss her creative process in a beautifully produced short video

To see more of Jane's work, visit her website

Pureed Vegetable Soup (also known as Clean Out the Refrigerator Soup)

I've been thinking about my Mom a lot lately, and one thing that always reminds me of her is her luscious, yet healthy pureed vegetable soup.  The thing that's so wonderful about this soup is that you can basically clean out the left-over contents of your fridge, and it will always taste delicious.  

Start with a drizzle of olive oil or butter (or both), and sauté chopped onions, garlic, or leeks, as I've done here.  

Saute till the leeks or onions are starting to brown.  The more caramelized they are, the richer depth of flavor they'll add to the soup.

Here's the fun part.  Gather whatever veggies you have in the fridge--left over cooked veggies, the old carrots you forgot about at the bottom of the bin that are slightly flabby, the half tomato that's been in there for a week but you forgot to use, literally anything that doesn't have mold on it!  I've used some random radishes, asparagus spears, a sweet potato, forgotten about carrots, some cooked haricot verts (that's green beans to you), I even threw in some leftover pesto I had made the other week.

The key is to chop everything up into similar sized pieces, so it will all cook at the same rate.

I've dumped the contents of my veggie bins in here, but you can also use just one vegetable--like cauliflower, if you want to.  It will come out just as yummy.

Now pour in a liquid to cover the veggies--I've used beef stock, because I happened to have it in the cupboard.  But you can use chicken stock, or just plain water.

Put the lid on, and simmer for about 30 minutes or till the veggies are tender. This is where I usually pour myself a glass of wine and turn Food Network on to see if Chopped is on!

Once  the veggies are fork tender, let the mixture cool down a bit, then transfer to a blender.  You can use an immersion blender if you want to.  I'm using a Vitamix because I'm a sucker for demonstrations, and the Vitamix guy at Wegmans managed to convince me I couldn't live without a $400 blender. Oy.

Add as much or as little of the liquid to achieve the consistency that appeals to you.  I like my soup a bit thicker.  Transfer the whole batch back to the dutch oven, and season, season, season.  Very important!  Obviously add salt and pepper. I've used my favorite all-purpose seasoning, my friend  Chef Donna's "Adoro" from the Spice and Tea Exchange.  Curry would be wonderful with cauliflower---maybe a few dashes of Siracha if you want to add some heat.  Anything goes!

Add a little milk, or heavy cream if you want a richer soup.  I usually just add a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream to my individual serving.

There is no right or wrong with this recipe.  It all works, whatever ingredients and spices you pick! 

And the best part is that the entire batch is only 10 calories! (or something like that!)

If you want to drop a few pounds fast, eat this for lunch for 2 weeks.  Seriously!

As Mimi would say...Bon Appetit!  

Miss you Mom!  XOXO