Sunday's Plate

Some of our parents asked for the recipe for Chicken Curry. This is one of my favorite dishes - it's my "comfort" food - the thing that seems most like growing up food.

You can "curry" just about anything. I use curry and mayonnaise for a steak dip. I curry rice, and put curry in lots of soups and even my tomato sauce for spaghetti. It's not something everyone likes, but to me it's about as familiar as salt.

Making curried chicken is not only about the easiest thing to do, it's one of the healthiest things you can eat. Served on brown rice, the chicken dish has very few calories, and the fresh condiments added to the dish just before eating add lots of different vitamins.

Before making your curry dish, arrange your sideboys. A sideboy is a small container like a pyrex glass cup or teacups or tea saucers that will hold your "addons" to your cooked dish. Adding extra raw and fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables add a distinctive taste to your dish. With curry's every bite is supposed to taste different from your last bite.

This makes a wonderful and easy party dish. Imagine a big ring of rice on a platter. In the center of the rice is a great bowl of bright yellow curried chicken. Surrounding the platter are two dozen "sideboys" of pretty vegetables and fruits. You don't need a salad, bread, or anything else. It's a quick and beautiful party fare.

Here are some examples of good additions for chicken curry:

cooked bacon bits
crumbled egg yolks
almonds
peanuts
walnuts
celery
raw onions
apple bits
raisins - dark and light
date bits
dried cherries
pickle relishes
coconut
Chow chow
Chutneys
dried apricots cut up
green peppers
mushrooms
cauliflower
pineapple bits fresh or dried
cubed cucumbers

Here's how to make your curry: cube your raw chicken. In a low pan like a saute pan or a frying pan, saute in olive oil or butter onions, apples, and celery. Add the chicken cubes and a heaping teaspoon of curry powder. As the chicken cooks, stir fry to mix the spice with the chicken and the veggies.

When the chicken is done, add two cups of water and a heaping tablespoon of chicken bouillon. When the bouillon is dissolved, add a roux of 1/4 cup water to a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch. When the dish has a nice thick soup consistency, it's ready to serve.

Enjoy