How I make chicken curry

What does this have to do with writing, you ask?

Good question: absolutely nothing.

With that out of the way, some folks have expressed interest in making Indian curry the JDB way.  And who am I to deny them the knowledge of my years of wisdom?

What you need to know up front: I have very idiosyncratic tastes.  I hate everything, and so I have to adjust my recipes accordingly.  That is why you will find no onion in my curry - which may sound odd to... just about everybody.

Secondly: I don't measure.  So this is not a recipe.  It's just a vague description of my cooking process.  So there.

Prep
I start by skinning a 1" piece of ginger root, and enough cloves of garlic to equal that volume (4 or 5 or so depending on their size) and grating those together with a smidge of water to make a paste.

Also, I like to use some fresh peppers - especially serrano peppers.  Chop 'em up real small.  This last time I forgot, so I used some dried ghost peppers which was still nice.

Then I dice some tomatoes (let's say 4) into small chunks, too.  Or use a can of crushed tomatoes when I don't have money - which is always.

The cooking part of the cooking
So: heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a saucepan on medium heat.  Dump in the chopped chilis and the ginger-garlic paste.  Stir together for 1 minute or so.  I also like to use a splash of soy sauce.  (Yes: soy sauce!)

I'm weird.  I know it.

Next, add in the tomatoes and keep 'em on the heat (stirring often and squishing them down) for, like, 6 or 7 minutes?  Yeah, that sounds good.

Here's where you sprinkle in... stuff.

I put probably a couple teaspoons of coriander.  Maybe 1/2 of turmeric?  Ish?  A couple teaspoons of chili powder and maybe some pepper flakes, too.  A good sprinkling of salt (descriptive, no?) and a dash of cinnamon, tiny wee bit of ground cloves, some dried fenugreek leaves, and an eensy bit of asafoetida powder.  Sometimes a splash of vinegar, too, if I feel like it.  Oh, and a smidge of sugar, since I had no onions.

Is that everything?  Maybe.  I just put in what seems good.  (Hope you're paying attention to these instructions...)

Stir it all up, then dump in chunks of whatever meat I found cheap that week.  About a pound and half or so.  Anywheres from one pound to two, really.  Y'know.

Coat the meat in the sauce and spices, browning it, for a few minutes.  Stir, stir, stir.

Then cover, turn the heat down low, and simmer for about an hour.

If you have some, chop a bit of cilantro to add when the curry comes off the stove.  I serve it over basmati rice flavored with salt and turmeric.

The eating of the food
This "recipe" makes two very large servings, if I'm having no side dishes.  More if I augment it with some kind of roti.

Save the leftovers (if any) in an airtight container in the fridge.  Tastes even better the next day!

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