I had a good old-fashioned cooking day today! I made strawberry-rhubarb crumble, dill-pickle cashews, and curried chicken salad (also known as Coronation Chicken). I forgot how good it was!
Despite it being a novel entirely about chefs, I decided not to put any recipes into the next Shivadh book -- except for my own personal recipe for curried chicken salad. So I figured I'd share it here ahead of time, since at least one reader is planning to make it in celebration. Here's the recipe!
"Coronation" Curried Chicken Salad
4 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped to preference
1 onion, diced
Oil for sautee
1 tbsp sweet curry powder (or to taste, up to about 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped (may also use raisins or other dried fruit, or exclude completely)
2 tbsp mango chutney (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Please see notes on ingredients below. The recipe's measurements and directions are intentionally imprecise, so that the chef may experiment and make the recipe their own.
Sautee the chopped onion in oil until very soft and translucent. Add in the curry powder and stir, cooking briefly, long enough for the seasoning to become aromatic, then add the chicken stock and simmer briefly.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tomato paste, lemon juice, and diced apricots until well mixed.
Make sure the mixture has cooled somewhat, then pour into a bowl and stir in the chutney, greek yogurt, and mayonnaise. Finally, fold in the chicken and let cool; keep cold until ready to serve.
Serve on pumpernickel or rye as tea sandwiches, with a thin scrape of butter or cream cheese on the bread; may also be served over rice, or eaten straight from the bowl with a spoon if you're hungry.
Notes:
While the chicken can be cooked as the chef desires, I usually use a mixture of white and dark meat stripped from a rotisserie or roast chicken.
Instead of chopping and sauteeing an onion, I frequently use roughly a cup of caramelized onions; instead of chopped dried apricots I frequently substitute golden raisins.
Rather than using 1/2 cup of each, the chef may use one cup of greek yogurt or one cup of mayonnaise; I personally find all-yogurt too dry, and all-mayo too oily.
HAPPY NATIONAL COOKING DAY!!!
Nothing beats the flavor and richness of a well-crafted, home-cooked meal. Dig out your recipe book, buy fresh ingredients, and spend some time in the kitchen
