A Touch of Kerala: Tamarind Coconut Milk Curry

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Today was an incredibly grey and rainy day--to the point where we had a tornado warning and I had to hide in a stairwell for 15 minutes--which made me want to cook something comforting.  I had a few vegetables from the farmer's market and decided to combine them with chicken to create a curry dish that I could just eat with a spoon.  I can't overstate how perfect this dish was on such a gloomy day!

The base of the curry is a combination of coconut milk and tamarind.  The two ingredients work perfectly together:  the rich creaminess of the coconut milk is balanced out by the sour and tangy taste of tamarind.  The combination of coconut milk and tamarind is popular in Kerala, a coastal state in southern India.  Fish is eaten frequently in Kerala because it borders the sea, but I chose to use chicken this time.  You can easily make this a vegetarian/vegan dish too--just omit the chicken and add more vegetables!

I used two different vegetables in my curry:  first, I used a pattypan squash, which is a type of summer squash.  If you can't find any where you live, you can easily substitute with a regular yellow squash or zucchini.  I also used a small eggplant, which is still in season for the rest of this month, so you should definitely run out and buy some!  The smaller-sized eggplant is a good choice because I find that smaller-sized vegetables always have more flavor than jumbo-sized vegetables.

As with most of my recipes, start off by finely mincing the onion and garlic, and grate the ginger.

Heat the oil and cinnamon sticks together on medium-low heat until the oil begins to bubble slightly around the cinnamon sticks.  At that point, add the onions and bring the heat to low.  Cook the onions on low heat until they are soft and translucent--roughly 10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, go ahead and cut the vegetables and chicken.  Look at these veggies!!  Look at the color!!  Incredible.  They tasted even better than they look, believe it or not.  Try and cut the vegetables smaller (1/2-inch pieces) if you are combining with chicken or fish.  If you are keeping this a vegan meal, cut them larger (1-inch pieces).  Cut your vegetables before you cut the chicken, and don't ever cut chicken on a wooden cutting board! {process of cutting chicken not pictured}

Once the onions have softened, add the garlic and ginger.  Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until fragrant, and still on low heat.  Next, add the turmeric, red chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar {salt and sugar not pictured}.  Stir the spices to combine with the onions, garlic, and ginger.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.   

Add the diced chicken, and cover the pan with a lid.  Allow the chicken to cook on low heat until it is no longer pink, which will take somewhere between 6 and 10 minutes.  After 4 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over so that all sides have even exposure to heat.

While the chicken cooks, prepare the tamarind mixture.  Combine the tamarind concentrate with water and stir to mix.  Once the chicken has cooked (is white), add the tamarind mixture to the pan.  Turn the heat up to medium and allow the chicken to cook in the tamarind mixture for 1 minute.

As the chicken is cooking in the tamarind, measure out the coconut milk.  Add it to the pan, and then stir to combine.  Add the cut squash and eggplant.  Put the lid on the pan and bring the curry to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and let the curry simmer lightly for 20 minutes.

After about 20 minutes, the curry will have thickened up.  Taste the curry (blow on the spoon first!) and if it is too watery, add more coconut milk one tablespoon at a time; alternatively, if it is too thick, add water one teaspoon at a time.

Enjoy warm with rice or paratha!  Or you can be like me and just dig in with a spoon :)

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 a small onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1-inch piece ginger (1 tbsp grated)
• 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 pattypan squash (substitute with small yellow squash or zucchini)
• 1 small eggplant
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 lb chicken breast
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup coconut milk

Recipe (Serves 2):

1. Finely chop the onion and garlic.  Peel and grate the ginger.
2. Add the oil and cinnamon sticks to the pan over low heat.
3. When the oil starts bubbling slightly around the cinnamon sticks, add the onions to the pan.  Cook over low heat until the onions are soft and translucent, roughly 10 minutes.
4. While the onions cook, chop the squash and eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces (note:  if making vegetarian, use more squash and eggplant, and cut into 1-inch pieces).
5. Dice the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces.
6. Once the onions are soft, add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until aromatic.  Add the spices, salt, and sugar and stir to combine.  Cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
7. Add the chicken to the pan.  Cover with a lid and continue cooking over low heat for 6 to 10 minutes.  Flip the chicken after 4 minutes so that each side cooks evenly.
8. While the chicken cooks, combine the tamarind concentrate with water and stir.  Once the chicken has cooked (isn't white) add the tamarind mixture to the pan and increase the heat to medium.  Allow the chicken to cook in the mixture for a minute.
9. Measure out the coconut milk and add it to the pan; stir to combine.  Add the squash and eggplant. 
10. Cover the pan with the lid and bring the curry to a boil.  Once at a boil, lower the heat and allow the curry to simmer for 20 minutes.
11. After 20 minutes, taste the curry.  If it is too watery, add coconut milk 1 tablespoon at a time; if it is too thick, add water 1 teaspoon at a time.
12. Serve hot and eat with rice, paratha, or eat alone with a big spoon!

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