Curry

(Photo: roolrool/flickr)

When I was growing up, the rotation of meals at the family table included American classics like meatloaf, tuna casserole, and hamburgers, but Mom’s real culinary inclinations tended toward the exotic.  Peppering the rotation were a few international dishes that my mother miraculously found before the internet made culinary travels easy.

This dish was simply called “Curry” at our house, and its main ingedient is the mild yellow spice mix that can be found at grocery stores far and wide in a jar labeled “curry”.   The bacon and raisins in the garnish add a sweet, salty note to the spice mix and evoke images of far off lands.  I’ve made some updates to the 1970′s version to include lighter ingredients like ground chicken instead of ground beef along with fresh herbs.  I think Mom would approve.

1 lb. ground chicken

1 large sweet onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 1/2 to 2 Tbs curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Cooked basmati rice

Garnishes:

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 cup raisins

1 cup roasted peanuts

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

 

Saute onion in cooking oil until it begins to soften, then add garlic.  Grate ginger diectly into pan and let it saute for a minute or two.  Add curry powder and stir.  When the curry powder becomes very fragrant, about a minute and a half, add the ground chicken and salt and pepper, and stir, breaking up the chunks, until the chicken in cooked through.  Remove from heat.

Put a serving of rice on a plate.  Top with some chicken mixture.  Add liberal portions of bacon, raisins, egg, peanut, and chopped herbs as garnish and enjoy.