If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you already know that every so often I crave Indian food. This time it was chicken in a kind of yogurt-laden sauce with green chiles.
I read a blog called Indian Simmer. It’s a combo of several cooks, and when I read a recipe for a chicken curry mixture (with a long, unrecognizable Indian name) I vowed I’d make something similar. After a trip to the grocery store to buy Anaheim chiles, a Poblano chile, and a mild yellow chile, I dug into my freezer for chicken thighs, defrosted them in about an hour in their pouches by plunging them into a big bowl of cold water, weighted down to keep the bags submerged, and I was off and running.
Veering off the original recipe some, I didn’t use a pressure cooker, but I baked the mixture instead in a low oven, and as I mentioned above, I added a variety of chiles rather than just one kind as the recipe indicated. I also added a bit of chicken broth, AND some Madras curry powder.
I could have flame-grilled the chiles (for more flavor and to remove skins) but I was into “easy” not time consuming, so I just chopped them up raw, skins on. I used more chiles than the recipe indicated (so I could get more veggies into the dish), but they weren’t hot chiles, so it added more layers of flavor, and not capsicum heat. The finished dish was mildly hot, which was perfect for me.
The recipe made a lot, and I’ve had it 3 times since I made it, and I still have leftovers. I can’t freeze it as the chicken was frozen before – well, I could freeze it, but they say the chicken really deteriorates if you re-freeze it. The juices provided just a little bit of sauce to enhance the rice I poured in the bowl. I used very little rice (about 1/3 cup at most) but it gave great texture and very few carbs. If you’re feeding a carb-hungry family with this, obviously, use plenty of rice and you could also add more chicken broth and a sprinkling of flour to give the sauce a bit more thickening.
What’s GOOD: loved the chile flavor – there are ample chiles in this dish, but they were mild ones, so they provided very little heat to the dish. It was very satisfying, eating this – the chicken, chiles, rice and broth. Really good. Not off the charts good, but very tasty. I’d make it again. The yogurt (I always use full fat for Indian food) adds such a lovely creaminess to the dish.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. It was easy to make and baking it in the oven made it doubly easy since I didn’t have to stir it periodically. A reminder – don’t boil the finished dish once you add the yogurt, or the sauce will separate.
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Indian Green Chile Chicken Thigh Stew
Recipe By: Adapted from Indian Simmer blog, 2016
Serving Size: 6
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds — whole
1 medium yellow onion — diced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger — grated using the wide side of a box grater
3 cloves garlic — minced
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs — cut into 1″ cubes
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder — optional
1 medium tomato — chopped
2 whole Anaheim chili pepper — seeded, chopped
1 large poblano chile — seeded, chopped
1 small yellow chile — seeded, chopped
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup cilantro — chopped
3/4 cup Greek yogurt, full-fat
More chopped cilantro for garnish
Basmati rice, to accompany
1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and wait until they begin to sizzle. Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent. Add in ginger and garlic and cook for about a minute.
3. Add chicken and salt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato and mix well. Add chicken broth, cilantro, curry powder and chilies and stir well. Cover and bake for about 45-55 minutes. Taste for seasonings. Add in yogurt and stir until thoroughly mixed in. Heat mixture slightly, but do not let it come to a complete simmer or it will separate.
4. Garnish with more cilantro and additional chopped chiles (if desired) and serve with basmati rice.
Per Serving: 319 Calories; 18g Fat (49.8% calories from fat); 31g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 125mg Cholesterol; 299mg Sodium.