Chicken Vindaloo

So it was my birthday last week and for a present my mother gave me a Jamie Oliver book I've been dying to having. She gave me Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution". The reason I've wanted this book is his mission behind creating it. I love that he is trying to teach people how simple and quick it can be to throw together a delicious meal for your family. Don't get me wrong. I'm guilty of using quick fix meals from time to time but I really do try to cook more for my family. I like knowing what ingredients are going into the foods.

Anyway, while leafing through the pages of the book, I stumbled upon a chapter that was devoted completely to curries. I love curry and Indian food in general. I love spicy food. That's why I was so excited to find this chapter. I'm constantly scouring the internet to discover new Indian dishes to try. Well now I have a book chalk full of new and exciting recipes. I decided to try his recipe for Vindaloo. It is a very spicy dish but I thought I was up for the challenge. I did, however, alter the recipe slightly by using chicken instead of pork. Also, his recipe called for Patak's hot curry paste. I couldn't track that down so I had to use the mild paste. I did have a difficult time finding it at all. I couldn't find it at any of our local grocery stores and wound up locating it at World Market. Anyway, this dish was plenty spicy for me so I can only imagine what it would be like with the hot curry paste.

Vindaloo
adapted from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

2 medium onions
4 cloves of garlic
1-2 fresh red or green chiles, to your taste
a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger root
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
4 ripe tomatoes
peanut or vegetable oil
a pat of butter
2 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 cup mild curry paste, such as Patak's
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup natural yogurt
1 lime

To prepare your curry:
Peel, halve and finely slice your onions. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Finely slice the chile and peel and finely slice the ginger. Pick the cilantro leaves and finely chop the stalks. Cut the tomatoes into quarters.

To cook your curry:
Get a large pot with a lid or a dutch oven on medium high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil and the butter. Add the onions, garlic, chile, ginger, and cilantro stalks and cook for 10 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the chicken and the curry paste. Stir well to coat everything with the paste and season with salt & pepper. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, honey and about 1 2/3 cups water, enough to cover everything, and stir again. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on. Check the curry regularly to make sure it's not sticking to the pan, and add extra water if necessary. Only when the meat is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper. Please season carefully.

To serve your curry:
Feel free to serve with basmati or jasmine rice, naan bread and with a few spoonfuls of natural yogurt dolloped on top. Sprinkle over the cilantro leaves and serve with some lime wedges for squeezing over.