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Rach's been riffing on her mom's chicken-apple curry for over 20 years. This version comes with almond rice pilaf and mint-chili raita.

Rach's Super-Shortcuts: "You can make this curry literally in a hurry," Rach says. "Use rotisserie chicken and 4 tablespoons of a jarred curry blend rather than toasting and grinding your own, such as Goan Curry by Floyd Cardoz, Burlap and Barrel brand which is excellent for the flavors in this dish."

WATCH: Wife Of Late Chef Floyd Cardoz Who Died Due To Covid Complications On Keeping His Memory Alive

For the mango chutney in the Chicken-Apple Curry, Rach likes Patak's.

John made a refreshing Mumbai Mule Cocktail to pair with Rach's Indian-inspired feast.

Ingredients

For the poached chicken:
  • 1 leek, halved and washed, then quartered
  • 2 large carrots, scrubbed and cut into large pieces on angle
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 4 large cloves garlic, crushed 
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • 1 inch ginger root, sliced 
  • 1 small piece fresh turmeric root, sliced (optional)   
  • One 3½-pound whole chicken
  • Salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons black peppercorn (½ palmful)  
For the Curry Spice Blend: 
  • 2 tablespoons cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seed
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorn
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fenugreek (½ palmful)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons fenugreek leaves (½ palmful)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seed  (½ palmful) 
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seed  (⅓ palmful)
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seed  (⅓ palmful)
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 2 cardamom pods 
For the Chicken-Apple Curry preparation:
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion or 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, sliced into thin planks, then long thin sticks, then short matchsticks   
  • 1 small fresh turmeric root, peeled and cut into small thin matchsticks OR add 1½ teaspoons ground turmeric to your curry blend  
  • 3 large cloves garlic, crushed and chopped or thinly sliced  
  • 2 to 3 chilies, halved lengthwise, seeded and stemmed and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 green apples, peeled and chopped, toss with juice of ½ lemon
  • About ¼ cup Curry Spice Blend
  • ½ cup picked fresh curry leaves, available online (optional)
  • 4 tablespoons flour
  • 1 quart chicken stock (from the poached chicken or store-bought) 
  • 1 Poached Chicken, meat pulled from the bones, or store-bought rotisserie chicken
  • ½ cup mango chutney (Rach likes Patak's)
  • Fresh cilantro, to garnish
For the Almond Rice Pilaf:
  • 2 tablespoons butter 
  • ½ cup broken spaghetti, 1-inch pieces
  • ½ cup chopped peeled almonds
  • Salt and pepper 
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 inch ginger, grated or finely chopped
  • 1 inch fresh turmeric root, grated and finely chopped OR ½ teaspoon ground turmeric 
  • One handful curry leaves, if you have them leftover (optional)
  • 1 ½ cups white rice
  • 2 ½ cups chicken stock or half-n-half stock to water 
For the Mint-Chili Raita and Naan:
  • 1 ½ cups Greek yogurt
  • 1 large clove garlic, grated or pasted 
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 green or red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped 1 teaspoon ground cumin  (⅓ palmful) 
  • ½ cup mixed herbs (mint, dill and cilantro combined), finely chopped 
  • Juice of 1 small lime
  •  Salt, to taste 
  • 4 store-bought garlic naan bread
  • 2 tablespoons butter 

Yield

Serves: 4 to 6

Preparation

For the poached chicken, place ingredients in large pot and add about 4 quarts water, bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer, cook 60 to 75 minutes, turning occasionally, then cool in stock. Remove chicken to shallow dish and remove skin and bones, pull meat into bite-sized or smaller pieces with your hands. Strain your stock, which will have reduced to about 2 ½ quarts.   

For the Curry Spice Blend, toast spices 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat in small pan and grind in electric spice mill, then transfer to small bowl or container.  

For the Chicken-Apple Curry, heat a large deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat, melt butter to foam and add onions, ginger, turmeric, garlic, chilies, and salt, let soften 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add apples, curry spice blend and curry leaves. Cover and let soften but do not brown. Add 4 tablespoons flour, stir a minute. Add stock, thicken to reduce sauce to coat spoon, add chicken and chutney and reduce heat to low simmer. Garnish with cilantro.

For the Almond Rice Pilaf, heat a saucepot over medium to medium-high heat, melt butter to foam and add spaghetti and nuts, toast, add salt and pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric, extra curry leaves if you want and keep toasting. Once everything is golden and toasted, add in rice, stir a minute, add stock and bring to a boil, simmer at lowest setting covered for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes, fluff rice and serve. 

For the Mint-Chili Raita, mix yogurt, garlic, ginger, chili, cumin, herbs, juice of a lime and salt in small bowl and combine. 

For the bread, heat a griddle over medium to medium-high heat, add a little water, like ¼ cup, and place naan on griddle, blister 2 naan bread at a time then and turn.  

Melt butter in microwave 40 seconds. Brush charred bread with butter, cut into quarters. 

Serve curry with rice, raita and naan.