Curry Indian Chicken

I'll bet what motivated the British to colonize so much of the world is that they were just looking for a decent meal. ~Martha Harrison

(Sorry it has been so long since I posted last. I started working nights and have not been able to cook as much as I would like!)

Missoula is a great town. I love living here. By Montana standards, Missoula is quite diverse; though, unfortunately, the food scene does not trend toward diversity. The choices are pretty slim: American, Thai, Mexican, Chinese, and some other Asian style restaurants dot the valley, but we are severely lacking in one type of food. I love the bold, strong flavors of Indian food. Scents fill the nose creating an expectation of grandeur upon the first bite; the curry and onion, garlic and paprika dance on my tongue. So, with the lack of a place to go out and eat Indian food I decided to start making my own. I probably should go and get a book and follow the recipes, but it was more fun to invent something of my own. This is how my standard Indian Chicken recipe came into being. It is a simple dish that uses ingredients most people already have in their kitchen.

Curry Indian Chicken

6 Chicken breast tenderloins

4 cloves of garlic , chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

½ Jar of red pasta sauce (I used garlic and onion style)

Curry Powder

Hungarian Paprika

Garlic Powder

Black Pepper

Olive Oil

A dash of Crushed Red Pepper

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a deep frying pan and add garlic. Sauté the garlic for about a minute to flavor the oil. Add the onion and stir.

While the onion is softening, season one side of the chicken with curry, paprika, garlic powder, and black pepper. Once the onions are fairly transparent, add the chicken, seasoned side down, to the frying pan. Season the other side of the chicken.

Allow to cook on each side for about five minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. It is important at this point to leave the chicken alone. Don’t move it around in the pan or stir it around. just let it cook for about five minutes, flip it and let it cook again.

Once the chicken is no longer pink, remove it from the pan (trying to leave as much of the onion/garlic mix in the pan as possible), cover, and set aside.

Pour pasta sauce into the pan and stir to bring up all that chicken-y goodness from the bottom of the pan. Add about a teaspoon of curry powder and a dash of crushed red pepper to the sauce and stir to incorporate.

Return chicken to the pan and stir to coat. Allow to cook for at least 5 more minutes.

Serve over seasoned rice. More often than not, I serve this with carrots cooked in butter and a dash of garlic powder.