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Thursday is experiment night in our kitchen for some reason. Tonight was our second attempt at curry.
We nailed it! The first batch wasn't bad, but this is GOOD.
A few days previous: simmer a bunch of chicken thighs, pick the meat off and freeze it, and simmer the bones for a few more hours. Strain and put the stock in jars, let it cool bit, and put it in the fridge.
Get the chicken out to thaw.
Chop finely:
5 cloves garlic
less than half a strong onion
a chunk of ginger a bit larger than a big man's thumb
three or four medium-size yellow potatoes
Saute these in oil in a large wok; plain vegetable oil or olive oil works, I don't think sesame would work. Start them pretty high, to brown the potatoes, and stir frequently to avoid caramelizing the garlic and onion. Turn them down after the potatoes show signs of softening.
As they cook, dump in about ...hm. 2.5 t salt, 1 t cinnamon, 2 t curry powder, 1.5 t paprika, a dash of garam masala, and a slightly smaller dash of black pepper. Adjust to taste.
While you're doing the chopping of everything else, slice up one huge carrot (store-carrot huge, not garden fresh. For homegrown, 2 or 3?)
Slice them thin, and when you start sauteing the other things, put the carrot slices in a saucepan and just barely cover them with chicken stock. Simmer them as you chop the other vegetables.
Chop up a large handful or two of green beans (sugar snap peas also work but are a bit sweeter.) Put them in the wok and dump the carrots and stock over them. Stir a couple times, add some more of the spices if it smells like it needs it, and put a lid on.
Chop up a nice zucchini and a small yellow squash - get young ones and don't take the seeds out. Put them on top, add a bit more cinnamon, curry, and garam masala, and put the lid back on.
Break up the hopefully thawed chicken and dump about a cup to a cup and a half in the wok. Stir, and let simmer until it's hot.
Pour about a cup of coconut milk over it all, stir, and serve.
The whole thing makes a sweet, rich, bastardized Thai curry.