Luisa's Raj Curry

Adapted from The Wednesday Chef  blog by Luisa Weiss and Real Fast Food (Penguin Books, 1992)

Serves 4 to 6

This comforting Anglo-style curry comes from Nigel Slater, by way of Luisa Weiss. Nigel calls it Chicken with Spices and Cream; I call it Luisa’s Raj Curry.

Luisa recommends serving this with basmati rice, and I do too—Meera Sodha’s Perfect Basmati Rice from Made in India (Flatiron Books, 2015), which has become my default plain rice for nearly everything—even Shrimp Creole. If I have the time, I fry some pappadam, but in a pinch I’ll serve really good potato chips.

4 to 6 chicken thighs (I use bone-in, skin-on)
Salt
2 tablespoons butter (If you keep clarified butter on hand, use it here)
1 tablespoon neutral oil (I use grapeseed)
A lump of butter the size of a walnut
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (not too fine)
2 tablespoons curry powder (Sun Brand and Penzey’s Sweet Curry are always reliable)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I like Vietnamese, often called Saigon cinnamon)
About ½ of a 400 g can Italian tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock made from Better Than Bouillon
½ cup heavy cream
Juice of half a lemon
Black pepper

If you know in advance that you’re going to cook this for dinner, rub salt into the chicken and let it sit in the refrigerator on a rack for a couple of hours. If not, just salt the chicken right before cooking.

If you’re using boneless, skinless chicken thighs, dredge them lightly in rice flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill—not sweet rice flour).

Heat the butter and oil in a skillet; I use cast iron for this step. Add the chicken and cook, turning, until the skin is taut and golden.

In another pan (I use stainless here), melt the walnut-sized lump of butter and add the onion. Cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more, stirring occasionally, until fragrant but not browned.

Stir in the curry powder and cinnamon and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes so the spices bloom and don’t taste raw when you add liquid.

Add the tomatoes and stock and stir to combine. Let the mixture warm up, then add the chicken and cook until the chicken is done—about 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the cream and cook for about 2 minutes to allow it to mingle and thicken slightly. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in the lemon juice, cook for 1 minute more, turn off the heat, add black pepper to taste, stir again, and serve.

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