Easy Chicken Curry Recipes With Regional Variety
Next time you decide you want to cook yourself an easy chicken curry, you might want to take a time out and think about exactly what you mean by that. After all, curries are spicy dishes that have origins in several countries around the world. For example, there are dozens of different styles of curries from the Indian sub-continent, such as the famous chicken vindaloo and chicken madras; to the oriental favorites such as Thai green chicken curry and red curry. There are even curries from the West Indies, often where goat is used as the meat rather than chicken; and surprisingly that British favorite, chicken tikka masala, oft cited as a Scottish invention, though this claim to fame is disputed.
So perhaps there is really no such thing as an easy chicken curry recipe. The recipes from different countries have entirely different herbs and spices, and although they are all delicious, they all taste completely unique. So what are these differences which allow us to distinguish between curries from distant regions?
Perhaps the most commonly encountered chicken curries in the USA originate from the Orient, countries such as China and Thailand. The well-known Thai green curry is characterized by its sauce, which is made from rich coconut cream laced with garlic and lemon grass, chilies and finely chopped cilantro. The base of the Thai red curry is similarly made using coconut milk, lemon grass and cilantro, but with other added spices such as galangal, paprika and turmeric which produce the warm orange color of this dish.
A trip over to India, Bangladesh and Pakistan provides an entirely different taste sensation. The curries use many ground herbs and spices, especially cumin and coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, fennel and a whole variety of others depending on the particular recipe. Garlic, ginger and fresh chilies are used liberally in curries from the Indian sub-continent, and tomatoes are a common ingredient also, unless the curry is a milder one, in which case it may have a very pale colored cream or yogurt based sauce.
So although all curries are delicious, and you will easily find a recipe to suit your taste, there is not a single easy chicken curry recipe out there – and that means, as long as you have some chilies, garlic and perhaps ginger, and a bunch of Asian spices to hand, you can pretty much make up your own!
