Goan Chicken Curry
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces and is grown in Mexico. This mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Suggested Use:
New Mexico Chiles are mildly hot and very popular in Southwest cooking. Great in sauces, salsa, rice dishes, stews and soups. Add directly to the cooking liquid along with other spices. Use in stir fry, or add to chicken or fish marinades.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup tamarind pulp with seeds
1 cup boiling water
10 black peppercorns
6 dried red chiles, such as Kashmiri or New Mexico, seeded
1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1-1/2″ piece of cinnamon stick
3-1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 large onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. turmeric
2 green fresh hot chiles, such as finger-hots or jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 cups water
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
Instructions:
In a heatproof bowl, soak the tamarind pulp in the boiling water, covered, until softened, about 30 minutes. Strain the pulp through a coarse sieve and discard the seeds.
Meanwhile, in a small skillet, combine the peppercorns, dried red chiles, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cinnamon. Toast over moderate heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer the spices to a spice grinder to cool. Grind to a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a large enameled cast-iron casserole dish. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add half of the chicken to the casserole dish and cook over moderately high heat until the pieces are browned, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pieces to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Pour off all but 2 Tbsp. of the fat from the casserole dish and add the onion. Cook the onion over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, ground spices and green chiles. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Stir the water and the strained tamarind pulp into the casserole dish and return the chicken to the dish. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Transfer the chicken breasts to a plate and add the coconut milk. Simmer for 20 minutes longer, then transfer the remaining chicken pieces to the plate and simmer the sauce until very flavorful, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the sauce. Simmer the chicken until heated through before serving.
Recipe by Sonali Rao.