Thursday, November 20, 2008

German Curried Chicken

In honor of my German grandmother Brigitta, I'm going to share one of my favorite dinner recipes, German Curried Chicken. You are probably asking yourself how can curried chicken be German, but I assure you, this is not like any curry you have had before.

Please note that I never measure anything when I cook, so all the directions below are estimates. Adjust as you see fit.

German Curried Chicken
1 medium onion, diced
1 T olive oil
1-2 t curry powder (any generic kind will do)
2 chicken breasts, thawed, cut into bite size pieces
2 large spoonfuls of flour
1-2 c milk
1-2 spoonfuls of sugar
1/2 c lemon juice
salt to taste

Saute the onions in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes until they are tender. Add the curry part way through. If you aren't sure how much curry you like, add just a little bit at a time (you can always add more once you make the sauce to taste it). Add the chicken and continue to saute until the chicken is cooked through. Add the flour and quickly stir until the oil has combined with the flour (this is crucial, because otherwise you will get a lumpy sauce). Add the milk and stir on medium heat until it thickens. You need to stir constantly so that the bottom doesn't burn. At this point add some salt and additional curry to taste. The sauce should be a warm yellow color. I Once the sauce thickens, add the sugar and the lemon juice. This will give it the German kick (they love anything sour). I usually add more lemon juice until it really has a kick.

Serve over rice and top with any of the following toppings: coconut, pineapple, diced tomatoes, sunflower seeds, or raisins.

If your sauce is not thickening, then you either didn't add enough flour or too much milk. I would suggest blending some flour in a little bit of milk until the lumps are all gone (this is important) and then adding that mixture to the curried chicken and cook until it thickens. If you've made any sauces before, then this should be easy.

3 comments:

Maria said...

Hi Brittany--This is different than Grandma's. She doesn't use onion and she boils the chicken with some spices (bay leaf and something else). But I will have to try your version--the onion addition sounds really good.

Britt said...

Maria,

Correction: Grandma's version as made by my mother.

That is so funny that my mom changed the recipe. Actually I think my mom would usually boil, but I saute because it is faster. The onion is a fabulous addition though. I still remember making curried chicken together in The Barn with your canned chicken. Good times.

Maria said...

Oh, the canned chicken.
So glad Dave has a good job and I have progressed to the frozen kind!