Chicken in Curry

Chicken in Curry © kvalifood.com

Chicken in curry is the old-fashioned version of the classic Danish curry chicken dish — made with a whole stewing hen, first simmered until tender in an aromatic broth. The curry sauce is built up with apple, onion and garlic, then enriched with the good chicken stock. The result is a deeper and more flavourful dish than the quick weekday version made with chicken breast.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Hen

  • 1 stewing hen, 1½–2 kg, cut into pieces
  • 1–1½ l water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion studded with 2 cloves
  • 1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme, bay leaf)

Curry sauce

  • 25 g butter
  • 1 dl onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 apple, grated
  • 1–2 tsp curry powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 4 tbsp plain flour
  • 6–7 dl chicken stock, from the pot

To serve

  • cooked rice
  • mango chutney

Method

Simmer the hen

Place the hen pieces in a pot and cover with water. Bring slowly to the boil and skim thoroughly. Add the salt, carrots, onion with cloves, and the bouquet garni. Put the lid on and let the hen simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Strain off about 3 cups of the stock and set aside for the sauce. Keep the meat warm.

If you have a particularly old bird, put the legs in the pot at least 30 minutes before the breast meat.

Make the curry sauce

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and grated apple. Sweat until the onion is soft and translucent. Sprinkle over the curry powder and turmeric and stir to combine. Add the flour while stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock until the sauce is smooth. Leave it to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Serving

Remove all the skin from the hen. Arrange the pieces in a shallow dish and pour the curry sauce over. Serve with cooked rice and mango chutney.

Notes

  • Grated apple in the sauce adds a natural sweetness that balances the curry. Use a tart variety like Granny Smith.
  • Always fry the curry powder in the fat briefly before adding liquid — this activates the flavour.
  • The chicken stock is gold. Freeze any leftovers for soups and sauces.
  • This dish works well as a rijsttafel — serve with small bowls of banana slices, peanuts, diced cucumber, coconut and raisins.
  • The recipe can also be made with a regular cooked chicken, but a stewing hen gives more flavour to the stock.