I love Sundays just because it has always been a “special” day for me. A day of rest, a day to spend time with close friends and family, and a day to be at church. Sundays (or the sabbath) is the day I find myself reflecting constantly. I think about things I’ve done during the week and things I could do better. I often find comfort in the lessons given at church, and feeling the wonderful spirit there. Everyone goes through challenges in their lives, and sometimes its easy to give up, to lose hope. The teachings that I learned at church has kept me anchored through the “rough waves”. At these times I find comfort in the words of a song that I learnt since I was a kid:
I need thee ev’ry hour,
Spaghetti and meatballs?
Sunday Night Dinners are always the highlight of the week. But choosing what to make can be pretty tough. We eventually decided on this pulled Indian chicken braised in some wonderful spices. It was a tough choice, because right down the road from us is a delicious downtown Indian restaurant – Bombay House. Everyone who lives around here knows about Bombay House and how good all their curries and garlic naan bread is. To even try to compete with their food would be impossible.
But we still decided to take on the challenge. We anxiously watched the simmering pot of spicy gravy with chicken cooking away. The room smelt wonderful and warm – it felt like home. That was one good sign. I was worried that the chicken wouldn’t cook on time because it was so tempting for one of us would lift the lid to stir and smell the delicious curry every few minutes making it hard to retain the heat.Thankfully we managed to get through the one hour and a half as Zoe and I kept watching each other to stop either of us running to the pot to take a quick peek. That’s the perk of having a cooking partner in crime to keep you in check to not ruin any dish or rush anything. Cooking is really a test of resilience and patience sometimes. But the results can be rather imaginable and worthwhile. Like this time.
Tender, flavorful chicken in a thick coconut/spiced sauce with sweet potatoes. I have to say it was good enough to rival Bombay House’s curry – and that is saying a lot. Our friends loved it. We all missed home cooking and this hit the spot. It will be something I will be remaking again soon.
- 3 bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tbsp pureed ginger
- 2 tbsp tomato paste (used around 1¾ since we ran out)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp red pepper powder/cayenne
- 3 cups chicken broth (make sure it is soy-free)
- ¾-1 cup tomato puree
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
- Remove all fat/skin from your chicken.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper.
- Heat pot over high heat and sear your chicken until golden brown on both sides.
- In the small pot, add onion and ginger. Cook until onion is soft and brown (around 5-10 minutes). Since I don't use any oil, keep an eye on it carefully. Add hot water, a little at a time, if you need to deglaze or if it starts to stick/burn.
- Add garlic, tomato paste, garam masala, turmeric, coriander, red pepper powder, cumin. Stir and cook until tomato paste is brown (around 4 minutes).
- Put in the chicken, broth, tomato puree, coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour (or until chicken is falling off the bone).
- Take out the chicken, shred/cut into bite-sized pieces. It is best if it looks irregular because it looks very rustic!
- Discard bones, and return the chicken meat and sweet potato chunks to stew.
- Continue to simmer and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until sweet potato is soft.
- Serve with fresh coriander, black pepper, rice, yoghurt.
Leave a Reply