An easy curry you can foist on your kids

I came across a recipe for a quick curry on Canadian Living a few months ago and I’ve made it twice. However, I didn’t microwave it. Recipe says you can nuke the works and wind up with something resembling curry–that may be, but I prefer to use a pan, brown things more slowly (including the spices, which benefit from toasting), and let the whole thing simmer while I make rice.

It’s the one time of day when I will absolutely not rush.

Still, this recipe qualifies as simple and the curry flavour is so mild, it’s a good one to start kids on. Original recipe here. My pan version below. (Note: This recipe probaby wouldn’t cut it over at Sanjeev Kapoor, but I’m sure he’ll forgive me. One day I will make an authentic curry from scratch.)

1 onion chopped

2 tsp olive oil

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed

1 tbsb curry powder (your own concoction or store-bought)

1 tbsb all purpose flour

2 tbsb water

1 1/2 cups of chicken stock

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 pear or 1 potato cubed

salt and pepper to taste

Chop the onion and sauté in oil on medium heat until softened and golden. Add the cubed chicken. Continue sautéing over medium heat until chicken has lost most of its pinkness and is developing some brown edges. Add the curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper and stir until all the chicken is coated. (If you’re using regular chicken stock, just add a dash of salt. If you’re using salt-reduced stock, you might want to add a little more salt. Best to taste it when it’s cooked and then adjust–don’t taste the dish before the chicken is thoroughly cooked.) Continue cooking for a minute or two.

In a small cup or bowl, combine the tablespoon of flour with the two tablespoons of water and stir well. It should end up looking like white goop with no lumps. Set aside. Add the stock to the pan and turn up the heat slightly. Add the water-and-flour paste. Stir the whole thing well. Once the mixture is bubbling, turn it down and cover with a lid or foil for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes are up, decide whether to add potato or pear. If your kids like pears, go for it–a familiar fruit in an unfamiliar dish probably won’t throw them. Otherwise, peel a medium potato, cut it in half and nuke it for 1 minute. Take it out, cube it, and add it to the curry. Let the curry go another 10 minutes.

You can serve this over rice, though it’s a little starchy (but not bad tasting) if you go for the potato. We’ve done it, and the comfort factor is quite high.

My theory is. . .the more flavours you introduce kids to, the more companiable dinner partners and guests they will become.

Which is not only good for you, but good for everyone else too.

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• Chicken Curry in a Hurry Recipe at Epicurious.com
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Filed under: food, kids, solo life , Canadian Living, curry, kids, microwave, sautéing, single parents