Along with chipotle peppers, curry has become a staple flavor profile in ever-expanding repertoire. From curried French toast to curried fried chicken and waffles, I’ve yet to meet a favorite dish that didn’t take well to my curry-fication.
Us Wisconsinites were spoiled this past week with a couple days of marvelous early-Autumn-like weather with just the tiniest chill in the air. After the swampy, oppressively hot couple of weeks prior, it was a welcome respite and preview of my favorite but far-t00-short season in Wisconsin. It also reminded me that I had a bunch of acorn squash and white pumpkin in my freezer, CSA leftovers that I used to make a delicious curried soup with crispy kale this past winter. Longing for those comforting flavors, but not quite ready for a steaming bowl of soup, I decided to make a simple chicken curry incorporating my leftover winter bounty. A refreshingly zippy pairing of cilantro and poblano pepper-infused rice helps this dish bridge the late-August gap between sweltering Summer and fair-weather Fall.
Sqush, Pumpkin, and Chicken Curry with Cilantro-Poblano Rice
Ingredient Rundown:
- 3-4 Chicken thighs, deboned and cut into 1in x 1in pieces
- 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
- 2 cups of water
- Squash and/or pumpkin, roasted and mashed (I used leftover acorn squash and white pumpkin from a soup I made this winter, which I had frozen in some zip-top bags)
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, julienned
- 1 small handful of cilantro, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp tandoori seasoning
- dash of ground chipotle powder
- salt and pepper to taste
How I do it:
- Prepare cilantro-poblano rice liquid by combining water, cilantro, half of the poblano pepper, pinch each of salt and curry powder and blend until smooth.
- Prepare base sauce for curry by combining chicken stock, ~1 cup of squash/pumpkin mash, tomato, half of the onion, Indian spices, salt and pepper and blending until smooth.
- Rub chicken thighs with mix of curry, garam masala, tandoori, pinch of salt and pepper.
- In large saute pan (or your trusty cast iron skillet), heat olive oil over medium heat and saute the other half of the minced onion, poblano pepper and garlic for a minute or two until softened.
- Add chicken and saute until browned, 5-8 minutes.
- Add curried squash puree along with another half cup or so of the mashed squash/pumpkin to pan and cook, uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
- Now would be a good time to start the rice – heat cilantro-poblano water until boiling, reduce heat, add rice and cook as directed. For my jasmine rice, 20 minutes is about right.
- Fluff rice with a fork and serve aside squash-pumpkin-chicken curry. Bask in the cross-seasonal glory.
Check out this post and other great foodie content from my friends at Forkful of News.
Curry powder? weakling. Come back when you start making your own curry pastes. Seriously – pastes are a great way to kill a few hours and they keep, almost, forever. Make a HUGE difference in taste.
Looks fantastic, though.
Yes, I know I need to step my paste game up. Penzeys’ maharaja curry powder is a pretty passable substitute though. Also, thanks!