Curry & sour cream braised chicken thighs

It is a rare occasion that I shed a single tear in a movie, let alone while reading a book, but today as I sat in a far away corner at Panera, I felt like weeping. Not because I was emotionally affected but because of the principled nature of the hero.

Later, Austen Heller said to him: “I expected it. I was afraid you’d turn him down. I’m not blaming you, Howard. Only he’s so rich. It could have helped you so much. And, after all, you’ve got to live.”

“Not that way,” said Roark.

It’s difficult to understand if you haven’t yet read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The hero, who you should be able to infer from the text above, stands his ground, unwavered and unpressured by social norms. He’s an architect, unaffected by what is unanimously considered without question, beauty. Instead of building to please, he builds for purpose. No ornaments, no elaborate facades, just the integrity of the building.

Howard ends up building a house for a client who craves of a “modern” style. His wife, however, seeks of a magnificent and sweeping style, much akin to a Greek temple. Howard, bitterly, accommodates her requests, but at one point realizes that the East Wing is completely wrong, compromising the house’s integrity. He volunteers to pay out of pocket, himself, to structurally change the wing.

Now that’s principled. The very foundations of objectivism indeed.

What this has to do with curry, I’m not sure. But at that one moment where Howard realizes the missing component that brings everything together is similar to the feeling I felt today. I had attempted to make Indian food a couple of weeks back but miserably failed. Actually it wasn’t so much my fail as the recipe’s. Nevertheless, instead of the intense flavors that I anticipated, the result was blandness. Tonight I tried again, modifying the recipe.

An improvement, for sure. Still, something was missing. The dish was clearly flavorful enough with spices. But it lacked a certain sweetness?

And that’s when it occurred to me. Now, don’t laugh when I tell you the missing ingredient, but it made all the difference in the world. Okay. Are you ready for it?

Ketchup.

I know the addition of such an unforbbiden and unorthodox ingredient completely makes this dish un-Indian, but whatever. All that matters is that it tastes great, right?! And don’t I remember someone inventing curry ketchup somewhere along the way?

If ketchup were a person, it’d be the second person on an unbalanced see-saw. The bite after felt like a symphonic explosion of flavors.

So I’m not quite sure what type of dish this is. I’m sure any authentic Indian cook would think it blasphemous to categorize this as Indian, so for now, it’ll just remain in the “miscellaneous” cuisine category.

Curry & Sour Cream Braised Chicken Thighs
Adapted from FOOD & WINE

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 5 chicken thighs
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red bell pepper—cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 medium red onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1/4 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 medium sized tomatoes coarsely diced
• 2 medium sized red potatoes, cubed (optional)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup ketchup*
• Basil leaves (or cilantro) for garnish

*If the concept of ketchup sounds too foreign to you, omit it and then add a little afterwards on your plate. I guarantee you’ll find a difference, a good one at that.

Recipe:

In a skillet, drizzle some oil and sautee the onions until they become brown and caramelized. This is completely optional, but I like to use a little of unfinished white wine to let it completely caramelize. When caramelized, remove the onions from the skillet. Drizzle a bit more of oil and let the oil sit in the pan. Meanwhile, season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Then, carefully place the chicken in the skillet, letting it cook about 2 minutes a side. Flip the chicken over so that it cooks evenly (this means you need to flip it FOUR times).

In a heavy saucepan, boil salted water. Add the cubed potatoes and wait until it boils. Let it boil for 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. Drain the potatoes and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking process.

In another skillet (or wok if you have one), drizzle a bit of oil. Add in the ginger, garlic,  and tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes shed water and add in the caramlized onions. Then add in the curry powder, garam masala, chili powder, sour cream, ketchup and water. Toss to mix. Then add in the chicken and the potatoes. Toss again until everything is evenly coated. Then cover and let it simmer on low heat for 8-10 minutes.

After, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then serve in a casserole dish. Serve over Basmati rice.

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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD & WINE archive.  As a FOOD & WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD & WINE.  I received a subscription to FOOD & WINE for my participation.

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