Tonight’s post is a rehash from something I did a while ago.

Ever have a yen for something tasty?

I give you… Inspired by Dirk.li….

Chicken Vindaloo.

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Well, I have to say, I did a quick question on facebook that went something like:

“I took chicken out of the freezer, what do I make?”

Aside from the multitudes of ‘Chicken Dish’ responses, I got some seriously great inspiration… Thanks Mim! (that’d be the Mim at http://www.mimsukes.com)

So, of course, what else could I make! But, we’re keto and gluten free, and I’ve never bought curry paste in my life. What to do, what to do.

What I used:

8 skin on/bone in chicken thighs

1/2 spanish onion

8 Campari tomatoes

1 c chicken broth (or stock)

1 Tbsp Canola Oil

1/2 c Heavy Whipping Cream

Curry Paste (ingredients and instructions under the cut)

What we did…

How I did it? Under the cut, please!

I checked out what was in Vindaloo style curry paste, and I used this recipe from Jamie Oliver as a base: (Found at: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/easy-homemade-curry-pastes)

Vindaloo paste

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger

• 4 dried red chillies

• 1 tablespoon turmeric

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• 3 tablespoons groundnut oil

• 2 tablespoons tomato puree

• 2 fresh red chillies

• 1 small bunch fresh coriander

• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

• 4 cloves

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds

• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds

• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

Now, I have a fairly well stocked spice cabinet, but I won’t lie, there were substitutions made. My Vindaloo paste was:

• 2 tsp Amore Garlic Paste (ultra concentrated, ultra smooth. Comes in a toothpaste type tube.)
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Heinz No sugar added Ketchup
• 3 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp MSG

Blitz the dry ingredients in a spice grinder or a food processor till finely powdered and well blended. Dump into a bowl, DO NOT BREATHE THE DUST…unless you’re me and wanted to sniff it and ended up a wheezy sneezy burny mess for a few minutes (yeah, I basically maced myself. Learn from my silliness!). Stir in the wet stuff till combined. It’s a little sweet, a little salty and a nice flavorful hot.

Take about a little more than half of it and coat your chicken thighs and let it sit for at least an hour, overnight wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I never plan that far ahead.

Set them on a baking pan- I used a half sheet pan with a piece of parchment on it, makes for a much easier clean up.

Bake at 375F till done, and a little toasty looking.

Back to the sauce, as inspired by the song.

First you take an onion, slice and dice: 

and sautee in a hot pan with a tbsp of canola oil till translucent.

Add the curry paste and mash around with the onions till fragrant and yellow and well: it starts like this:

and then looks like this:

Once you get that sticky goodness that smells toasty (low fire, medium heat!) deglaze with a cup of chicken broth (1 tsp chicken bouillon powder to 1 cup water, or homemade or boxed or canned, whatever you got on hand). Scrape all the yum off the bottom and while it reduces,

these:

are Campari Tomatoes. They’re really sweet, and not very acidic. Quarter them, then add to the curry-onion goodness in the pan.

Simmer this, and it’ll release it’s own juices and perfume the room you’re cooking in. It’ll be good, trust me. Keep stirring it till it looks like this:

Then cover and cook on low another 5-10 minutes

(yeah, I know that’s not really the cover to my saucier. It doesn’t actually have a cover and I was improvising with the lid to my crock pot.)

Everything will get nice and mushy, you’ll add in your half cup of heavy cream here- it’s fully optional, but I find it rounds it out and gives the sauce a velvety smooth mouthfeel, and tempers the raw flamethrower blast of heat, and as a bonus, it won’t require any other thickener- which is really good when you’re cooking keto friendly. You can temper in yogurt, but I always seem to have issues with it breaking and curdling.

It’ll start out looking a little loose, like this:

but after a few minutes of simmering and reducing, it’ll thicken up to nappe (french for coats the back of a spoon) pretty quick

By now, your chicken should be done (or if it’s not, this sauce holds and reheats beautifully).

Toss your chicken in and stir gently to coat.

I have yet to figure out how to make a curry look as good as it tastes. I think it’s impossible!

Serve over a bed of Jasmine Rice if you’re so inclined OR if you’re me, simple steamed cauliflower is a perfect accompaniment. (Cauliflower ‘rice’ is another great thing to serve with this.)

Nutrition Info, as per My Fitness Pal: