Curry Chicken Wings

I was a chicken wing fan long before they became a thing for Superbowl get-togethers. In fact, long before there even was a Superbowl.

My mother always gave us kids, my brothers and me, the chicken wings because she said they were the best part.

She was right. And she was generous, or maybe just being a good Mom, giving the best part to the kids.

Chicken wings are a staple in my kitchen. Here is one of my favorite ways to make them.

HONEY-CURRY STICKY WINGS

• 24-28 chicken wing parts

• 1/2 cup honey

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons curry powder

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the wing parts and place them on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, Dijon mustard, vegetable oil, curry powder and garlic. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook for one minute, stirring to blend the ingredients thoroughly and remove from the heat. Brush the tops of the wings with some of the honey mixture. Bake the wings for 10 minutes. Turn the wings over, brush with more of the honey mixture and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the wings over again, brush with the remaining honey mixture and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the wings are golden brown and crispy looking. You can also grill the wings, turning them occasionally and brushing with the honey mixture.

Makes 24-28 pieces

Country Captain (Curry Chicken)

Country Captain

A few years ago I cooked a recipe for Country Captain — a curry chicken dish that’s very popular in the South.

We liked it so much that I made it many times over the years and in fact, used to include the recipe in a few of my cooking classes.

Then, “knowing how way leads onto way” I prepared other recipes, new ones, experimental ones, riffs on old ones — and forgot about Country Captain.

Recently, when I was cleaning out some files, I found my old recipe (computer paper version, sauce-stained of course).

I made the dish for dinner recently and lo and behold! We liked it again!

Country Captain started as an Indian dish but somehow, because of its popularity in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia it became a Southern specialty. There are all sorts of stories about the recipe’s provenance and why it became such an iconic regional dish. I’m not sure of the whys and hows. All I know is how delicious it is. Apparently it was a favorite of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and General George Patton.

Basically Country Captain is braised chicken and tomatoes with curry seasoning and served over cooked white rice. There’s usually a garnish of toasted almonds, which add some crunch and flavor, but I’ve made the dish without the nuts and it’s just fine!

Country Captain

• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, cut into 8 parts (or 4 breasts or whole legs)

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 1 medium bell pepper, cut into chunks

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

• 2 teaspoons curry powder, mild or hot or a combination

• 1-1/2 teaspoons thyme leaves (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)

• 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 to 2/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock or tomato sauce

• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

• 1/4 cup raisins or currants

• Cooked white rice

• 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds, optional

• chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Wash the chicken and dredge the pieces in the flour. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add pieces of the chicken a few at a time and cook for 5-8 minutes until lightly browned, turning pieces occasionally. Remove and set aside on a plate. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the pan. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until vegetables have softened. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the tomatoes, curry powder, thyme, salt and pepper, and stir to combine ingredients. Pour in 1/2 cup of the stock. Return the chicken to the pan, spoon the pan ingredients over the chicken, cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the parsley and raisins or currants. Add more stock if the pan seems dry. Cook another five minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve over cooked white rice.  Sprinkle with the almonds and parsley if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Braised Chicken in Coconut Curry

Braised Chicken in Coconut Curry

Our family does not observe the lunar new year but that’s no reason not to feel happy for those who do. A new year on any calendar brings hope for a happy, healthy, safe and meaningful year to come.

Everyone can relate to that!

So, in honor of the Year of the Tiger, here’s a dish inspired by my travels to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

BRAISED CHICKEN IN COCONUT CURRY

•  One chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or use 4 large chicken breast halves or 4 whole legs)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chili pepper

• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped lemongrass

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1-1/2 cups coconut milk (13-15 ounce can)

• salt to taste

• chopped chives or parsley for garnish

Wash and dry the chicken pieces. Heat the vegetable oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken a few pieces at a time, turning them occasionally, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chili pepper and lemongrass and cook, briefly, stirring constantly. Whisk the tomato paste, curry powder and coconut milk together until thoroughly blended. Pour the liquid into the pan. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve garnished with a sprinkle of fresh chopped chives or parsley.

Makes 4 servings

Hawaij Chicken

People send me all sorts of press releases about different foods and ingredients. But one that recently caught my attention was about Pereg’s new Hawaij spice combos. I was intrigued enough to say “yes” when samples were offered. I love trying out new spice blends and experimenting with them in recipes.

Of course Hawaij is not new — just new to me. It is a traditional Yemenite seasoning, the word in Arabic translates as “mixture.”

In fact there are two such mixtures: savory Hawaij for soups, meats, vegetables and so on, and sweet Hawaij for coffee. The Pereg savory blend includes ground cumin, turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cardamom and cloves, a flavorful combination of warmth and spice, an aroma that’s magical. The coffee-blend contains ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

The company sent me both, so — I got cooking.

The first recipe was so good I have made it several times already: braised Cornish hens in a coconut milk based curry-type sauce, served with cooked rice and a green vegetable. I have since made this recipe a few more times using chicken wings and bone-in chicken breasts.

The coffee spice? I used it to season homemade honey muffins. I added some to my afternoon coffee (a middle-eastern counterpart to American pumpkin-spice latte). And I couldn’t leave it at that so I made some Hawaij-coffee-spice ice cream.

I see more to come in the future of this fabulous spice blend.

Chicken or Cornish Hen with Hawaij Spice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 cornish hens, split down the back or 4 large pieces of chicken

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 1/2 lemon, sliced

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1-1/2 teaspoons hawaij

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1-1/2 cups coconut milk

• 3 cups cooked rice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Dry the surface of the hens or chicken, place them in the pan and cook them for 4-5 minutes, turning once or twice, to brown the surface. Remove the pieces to a dish and set aside. Add the onion, lemon slices and garlic to the pan. Sprinkle with hawaij and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat the ingredients evenly. Return the hens/chicken to the pan, spoon some of the onion mixture on top. Pour in the coconut milk and stir to blend it in. Cover the pan. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes or until the meat is tender and cooked through. Place the rice on a serving platter. Remove the hen/chicken pieces from the oven and place them on top of the rice. Keep the platter warm in the oven. Place the saute pan over high heat on the cooktop. Bring to a boil, then simmer the pan juices for about 4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour over the hen/chicken and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Curry Kosher (Chicken Wings, et al)

Back in the day, before so many modern kosher cookbooks hit the market (including my own Hip Kosher and The Modern Kosher Kitchen), anyone who was kosher and wanted to expand home cooking beyond the traditional family favorites would buy a cookbook and adapt recipes in accordance with kashrut.

Although it’s easier now to find contemporary kosher recipes, there is still a whole world of flavors, wonderful foods and good cookbooks out there that are too good to be missed. There’s still a reason to look beyond the obvious kosher cookbook market.

Recently I came across this book: Spice Spice Baby: 100 Recipes with Healing Spices for Your Family Table at my daughter’s house. The author, Kanchan Koya, is a Harvard-trained molecular biologist who blogs about the health benefits of spices at www.spicespicebaby.com and is also a chef-creator for www.Buzzfeedtasty.com.

I found the recipes in this book irresistible. Too good to be missed. They are interesting, intriguing and globally inspired. All include one or more of 15 spices that have health benefits (which she discusses in the book).

I made several of the dishes, changing what was needed for the kosher kitchen. The original recipe here included boneless chicken — I changed it to wings because my family likes them. The sauce contained yogurt, which I changed to coconut milk plus some lemon juice, to mimic the tart dairy taste. But the spices — unchanged. They are a fabulous tasting, intoxicatingly aromatic blend.

This dish was awesome. We gobbled it up, every morsel. The flavors are vibrant, satisfying, and perfect for autumn when the weather turns and there’s a chill in the air.

Check out Koya’s website. Lots of good stuff.

Btw, I was not paid for this post nor did I receive any book or benefit. I included a photo from the book showing the original recipe (photo credit to www.wayne-wong.com) so you can see how different it looks with the chicken wings.  

 

Curry Chicken Wings

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

• 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• pinch or two of cayenne pepper

• 1/2 cup coconut milk

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 12-15 chicken wing parts

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, optional

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper and stir the ingredients into a paste. Stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice. Add the chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the water, cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chopped coriander or parsley if desired.

Makes 4 servings