Trinidadian chicken curry recipe

Just after getting my cooking mojo back last week, I headed to Toronto for a conference.  Toronto is a great place to eat because you can find authentic food from all around the world within a few blocks (I ate at Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican, and Greek restaurants all right around my hotel).  After recovering from the trip (lots of science + lots of late nights catching up with friends = a very tiring week), I was finally ready to do some cooking last night.  I was in the mood for chicken, and decided that I should finally make the Trinidadian chicken curry I noticed on The Pioneer Woman a while back.

I've been extraordinarily happy with every one of Ree's recipes that I've tried (especially the peppers and mushrooms I made for Mom's birthday party last month), so I had faith that this wouldn't disappoint me.  I was correct.  As soon as I smelled the marinade, I knew this would be delicious, and it only got better from there.  This dish has bold flavors, and I never would have thought of the combination of mustard, pico de gallo mixture, and curry powder.  This will definitely become one of my staple dishes, especially when I'm cooking for meat lovers (Dad, this means you).


Trinidadian chicken curry (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
(Printable version)

1 1/2 pounds chicken (I used boneless, skinless breasts, but any skinless cut will do)
sprinkle of salt
2 tsp yellow mustard
1 tomato, quartered
1 onion, halved (and divided)
2 handfuls of cilantro
5 garlic cloves
freshly cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sprinkle the chicken with salt, and rub it with the mustard.  Combine the tomato, half of the onion, cilantro, garlic, and black pepper in a food processor and pulse a few times until the veggies are very finely diced.  Pour this mixture on top of the chicken, mix well, and let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours.

When you're ready to cook the chicken, mix the curry powder, turmeric, and water together in a small bowl.  Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saute pan, and then stir in this spice/water mixture.  Continue stirring until the sauce thickens and turns darker (about 10 min).  Then dice the other half of the onion, and saute it in the sauce until tender (about 5 min).  Next, add in the chicken and all of the veggie marinade, loosely cover the pan, and cook for 5 min.  Stir everything around in the pan, cover, and continue to cook for 20-25 min, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is done and the sauce is thick (you can remove the cover for a few minutes if the chicken is done before the sauce thickens).  Serves 4.