Pub-Style Chicken Curry

Last February, I posted a recipe for Butter Chicken. At the time I was trying to embrace my family’s love of Indian food, while still grappling with my dislike for curry. Butter chicken was my “compromise”. Through the year though I would pick at my husband’s chicken curry while dining out here and there and gradually, I started to develop a taste for it. I dare say, a craving for it.  A couple of weeks ago, I took the plunge and ordered my own plate of pub-style chicken curry at our local haunt and almost licked the bowl clean, it was that good.

It then became my mission to find a recipe for pub-style chicken curry that I could make at home. Not so easy. There really aren’t a lot and of the ones I could find, none looked like the one I fell in love with. I wanted a creamy sauce, nothing too hot – so I came up with this one from a few different recipes, with major inspiration from here. I adjusted quantities slightly to get more flavour on certain things. I think it’s delicious. Let me know what you think.

Pub Style Chicken Curry

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 split chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
4 – 5 medium carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion sliced very thin
1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger (I used the jarred ginger)
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1-2 Thai red chili peppers, finely chopped (depending on your heat tolerance, you can add more)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons mild curry powder
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch crushed chili flakes
1 cup table cream (18%)
2 cups of hot chicken stock
1 tablespoon of sweet mango chutney (Patak’s is good)

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat and add chicken pieces. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is white on all sides, four to five minutes. Add onions, carrots, garlic, and chili pepper. Cook over medium heat until onions are softened, another 5 minutes or so. Stir in tomato paste and coat vegetables and chicken.

Toss in curry powder, flour, turmeric, cumin and ginger. Stir until dry. Add in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add in cream and once it returns to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in mango chutney just before serving.

Serve over Basmati rice with Naan bread for dipping.

Pleasantville Note: This gets better the next day. So feel free to make a day ahead and re-heat over low heat.