Amy's Quick Creamy Chicken Curry

Curry.  I love curry.  Specifically Indian-style curries.  I've had other styles of curry. Vietnamese and Thai come to mind.  But Indian curry holds a special place in my heart.  It's the only kind of curry I've ever made in my own kitchen and Indian food was the beginning of my foray into cuisines other than my own.  The problem with this curry love is that it takes a long time to make the traditional ones I love.  So, I set out to make a quick version of my favorite dish; one that is able to be accomplished on a busy weeknight after an exhausting day at work.  Of course, I don't, by any means, think you should make this dish exclusive of other, more labor-intensive curries.  They have their own enchantments.  But this one gets me through my curry cravings until I have hours to spend making the more traditional varieties.

Amy's Quick Creamy Chicken Curry

2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. curry powder
1 large onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped OR 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup plain yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro for garnish, optional

**Heat olive oil in frying pan.  Saute onion until translucent.  Add tomatoes (and juices either from can or from your cutting board), garlic, and ginger.  Cook until most of the juices from the tomatoes are gone.  If this happens and your veggies aren't cooked to your liking, add some extra chicken broth at this step and cook until it's almost gone. Stir in the curry powder and let cook until spices are fragrant.  Add chicken pieces and cook for a little while until they don't look raw but are still raw on this inside.  Pour in the chicken broth.  Let bubble away until the chicken is done.  While chicken is cooking away in the sauce you've made, mix the cold water and corn starch well.  When the chicken is done, add the water/corn starch mixture to the pan and stir well.  Let cook for another minute or so until the sauce has thickened to your liking.  Then turn off the heat.  Add the plain yogurt and stir well.  Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.  Garnish with cilantro, optional.  Serve with rice or cous cous and other veggies, if desired.

Note:  I'll be adding more ginger next time.  And possibly 1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro with the tomatoes.

The Bluet

I love Spring.  It ties with Fall for my favorite season.  Whichever one is closest is my current favorite.  This winter was a particularly difficult one for me so I am especially grateful for the symbolic renewal and rebirth of this delightful season.  I thought I'd jumble together a celebratory post of sorts.  I'll start with 'The Bluet'.

This little flower growing in my yard, while I'm sure it's not a bluet, reminded me of 'The Bluet' by James Schuyler.

****
The Bluet
by:  James Schuyler

And is it stamina
that unseasonable freaks
forth a bluet, a
Quaker lady, by
the lake? So small,
a drop of sky that
splashed and held,
four-petaled, creamy
in its throat. The woods
around were brown,
the air crisp as a
Carr's table water
biscuit and smelt of
cider. There were frost
apples on the trees in
the field below the house.
The pond was still, then
broke into a ripple.
The hills, the leaves that
have not yet fallen
are deep and oriental
rug colors. Brown leaves
in the woods set off
grey trunks of trees
But that bluet was
the focus of it all: last
spring, next spring, what
does it matter? Unexpected
as a tear when someone
reads a poem you wrote
for him:  "It's this line
here." That bluet breaks
me up, tiny spring flower
late, late in dour October.
****

...which in turn also reminded me of my supremely attractive creative writing professor that assigned this poem the first time I read it... but I digress.


UPDATED TO ADD: I wrote this post about a month ago and never posted it.  Busyness got in the way, I guess.  Anyway, I'll stop at 'The Bluet' right where I started. I figured I should post this while it's still technically spring.  Btw, There are still some of these flowers in my yard.  They're much taller now.