Almond Chicken Curry

In continued experiments to create dairy free food for my daughter, without compromising good taste, I tried making an almond milk based chicken curry. Though my daughter is four year old she is pretty sophisticated in her tastes. And keeping in line with child behavior of having no filter she will mercilessly declare that a dish is a disaster if it has no taste to her standards. There is nothing more demoralizing than being massacred by a child after you spent a hour at the stove

The dish is pretty simple – chicken simmered in fresh made almond milk, and spiked with spices. I made this dish with a whole chicken that was quartered into eight pieces. It can be substituted with any another cut of chicken.

For two kilos (4.4 pounds) of chicken

Spices

1. One inch long cinnamon stick
2. One and half teaspoon cumin seeds
3. Half teaspoon fennel seeds
4. One teaspoon whole black pepper 
5. Half piece of star anise
6. Half aril of mace
7. One black cardamom pod
8. Four green cardamom pods
9. Two bay leaves
10. One tablespoon sesame seeds
11. A tiny piece of nutmeg

Coarse grind all the spices, except bay leaves, in a coffee mill.

Other ingredients

1. A medium size thinly sliced onion
2. One tablespoon of fresh ground garlic and ginger paste. 
3. Salt to taste
4. Two tablespoon of oil
5. Two ounces (56 grams) of almonds

Skinless almonds are easier to work with. If you don’t have them soak regular almonds overnight and the skin can be peeled off pretty easy the next day. Grind the almonds in a blender with half of cup of water. Add extra water if needed. Blend till it is a smooth paste. Transfer the mix into a muslin cloth or a nut milk bag and squeeze out the milk. The milk should have the consistency of half & half.

Heat oil in a brasier pan and add bay leaves. Lower the heat to medium low and add onions. Saute onions till they turn translucent to slightly golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and continue sauteing for two-three minutes. Lower the heat to low, add the ground spices and saute till the smell of spices starts wafting into the air. Add half cup of water, mix well, cover the pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the almond milk and chicken pieces. Mix well. Increase the heat till the gravy starts bubbling. Lower the heat to simmer, cover the pan and cook till chicken is cooked through and tender. Add salt to taste. 

The end result is a very rich tasting curry, but it is not sinful. Barring for the two tablespoons of oil and some inherent fat from the chicken there is no added fat.

Note: Potatoes are totally optional. I had three potatoes lying in the pantry and just to use them I add them to the curry. 

My daughter deemed the dish as  – yummy, yummy, yummy.