THE ORIGINAL ‘RECEIPT’

To make curry with rabbit, chicken, or any other meat, flour the meat and fry it a nice light brown;  fry also two large onions in the same way;  mix a tablespoonful of curry powder, and a small quantity of cayenne in a tea cup, with warm water to the consistency of cream and cover every part of the meat with the mixture:  have ready some nice stock or thin gravy;  put all together in a stew-pan, and let it stew gently for twenty minutes;  before serving slice two or three apples, let them stew away;  this addition is thought to be a great improvement, as it makes the curry milder;  rice to be boiled very dry and served around the dish.

~Ladies of Toronto. The Home Cook Book. Toronto: The Musson Book Co. Limited, 1877.

THE UPDATED RECIPE

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cooking onions
• about ¼ c. all-purpose flour (for dredging)
• about 1 Tb. butter (for frying)
• 1 Tb. curry powder
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 2 Tb. warm water
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 2 McIntosh apples
• rice or naan bread to serve
• optional: fresh cilantro (to sprinkle on top as a garnish) or raita or mango chutney.

Cut the chicken into chunks.

Measure 2 cups of stock.

Peel and coarsely chop the onions.

Dredge the chicken pieces and the onions with flour.

In a 10-inch diameter cast-iron frying pan (or regular frying pan, or Dutch Oven on the stovetop), heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted;  add the chicken pieces, and then the onions, and fry until golden brown.

Turn the meat and stir the onions, so that they brown evenly;  fry about eight to ten minutes all together, reducing heat if necessary, to prevent any scorching.  Remove from the stove when evenly cooked.

Combine the curry powder, cayenne, and two tablespoons of water to form a thin paste;  completely cover each piece of chicken with this mixture.

In a saucepan, combine the coated chicken, onions and strained chicken stock.

Bring this mixture to a boil, and then simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat for twenty minutes.

Peel, core and cut the apples into thick slices;  add them to the curry, and cook an additional ten minutes, or until the apples are softened, and they begin to break down into chunks.

Serve the curry piping hot, in a ring of boiled rice.

Yield: 3 or 4 servings.

This Curry with Chicken is pungent and tasty.

A note from Patricia: I was game to try this recipe, as a curry isn’t something that I normally attempt at home, and this one looked easy-peasy. It looked a lot like a British pub-style curry and I thought that the addition of the apple sounded lovely. I cooked the entire recipe in my Dutch Oven on the stovetop, which was convenient because there was no messing up a million pots and pans. I used 1:1 gluten free flour to dredge the chicken and the onion, and that worked out well, and helped the sauce to thicken up nicely. As for the taste? It was a lovely meal. It wasn’t super spicy (was it my curry powder?), so next time I’ll hunt down a spicier curry powder to kick up the heat a bit, and I might even add some fresh ginger and garlic. The apples were such a nice, sweet component, and the chicken was moist and tender. It was a simple dish, with simple spices, and was really comforting.

OBSERVATIONS ON CURRIES.

….a sweet, acid, highly but agreeably flavored, perfectly cooked and digestible dish, fit to set before a prince.

~Clarke, Anne. Mrs. Clarke’s Cookery Book. Toronto: The Grip Printing and Publishing Co., 1883.

Slices of under-done veal, or rabbit, turkey & c. make excellent currie.

~The Experienced American Housekeeper, or Domestic Cookery: Formed on Principles of Economy for the Use of Private Families. New York: Johnstone & Van Norden, 1823.

An easy way to form a border of potato, rice, etc., is to take a baking-dish, oval or round, butter it well, then form a border around the dish, egg it over and set it in the oven for two minutes, loosen the edges, and turn the dish over carefully upon a warm plate, then fill the centre with the hot hashed meat.  Sprinkle the top with a pinch of chopped parsley, and serve.

~Cutter, Sarah J. Palatable Dishes. Buffalo: Peter Paul & Bro., 1891.