Chicken and Butternut Squash Curry — The One-Pot Indian Dinner the Week the Promotion Stuck

Cody is on day four hundred and sixty-six of his sentence. The forty-seventh Saturday visit was Saturday morning. He is on his seventh workshop piece. The chapbook addendum — the small four-page addition the Tulsa Library workshop produces each spring with new pieces from the previous chapbook’s writers — arrived in the mail Wednesday afternoon. Three of Cody’s pieces are in the addendum, more than any other writer this round. The chapbook collection on the kitchen counter is now a slim small object Mama and I both pick up and read from sometimes when we are at the kitchen table together over coffee.

The volunteer Mrs. Davis from the Tulsa Library put a small note in the envelope addressed to Mama. The note was three sentences. Mrs. Moreland. Cody is the strongest writer in the program right now and we wanted you to know. He is going somewhere. With love, Mrs. Davis and the workshop volunteers. Mama read the note at the kitchen counter on Wednesday afternoon and stood at the counter for a long minute without moving. Then she put the note in the cabinet over the sink where she keeps the bill folder and the photo of Cody at his GED graduation last fall and the small Tulsa Review issue with The Sister at the Stove on page eleven.

And the news Tuesday: Carlos confirmed the Sonic shift-lead role permanent. The shift-lead-in-training period is over. I am now officially the shift-lead at the Sonic on 71st Street, with pay rate $10.50 an hour, all weekend closings on my schedule, and the long-term path to assistant manager once I turn eighteen still on the table. Carlos called me into the back office Tuesday at three-fifteen. He had a small printed notice on the desk in front of him. He read it through with me. He said, kid, you have earned this and you are going to be running this place by yourself a year from now. I tried not to grin and failed.

The recipe Sunday was chicken and butternut squash curry. The recipe is from A Family Feast and is the kind of one-pot Indian dinner I had been wanting to try since the chai coconut ice cream taught me the spice rack could do more than I had been asking it to. The dish is chicken thighs and cubed butternut squash simmered in coconut milk and chicken broth with curry powder, garam masala, garlic, ginger, onion. Served over jasmine rice with cilantro and lime on top.

The math: chicken thighs from the markdown rack $2.79, a small butternut squash $1.99, a can of coconut milk $1.79, a small yellow onion $0.20, garlic from the bulb, fresh ginger $0.40 from the produce-section knob, the curry powder and garam masala from the rack, fresh cilantro $0.99, a lime $0.49, jasmine rice $0.30 from the bag. Total: about $8.95 for three dinners that fed Mama and me Sunday and Monday and Tuesday.

The technique is the spice bloom and the simmer. You sear the cubed chicken thighs in oil in a Dutch oven until browned on all sides. You remove the chicken. You add the diced onion, minced garlic, and grated ginger to the pan and sweat them in the rendered chicken fat for three minutes. You stir in two tablespoons of curry powder and a teaspoon of garam masala and you cook for thirty seconds — this is the bloom step, where the spices release their oils into the hot fat and become fragrant in the way they do not when added to a wet sauce later.

You pour in the coconut milk and a cup of chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. You add the cubed butternut squash. You return the chicken thighs. You bring to a simmer and cover. You cook for twenty-five minutes until the squash is tender and the chicken is cooked through. You stir in a tablespoon of lime juice and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro at the end, off the heat.

You serve over jasmine rice in shallow bowls. The dish has the orange-yellow color of curry-and-coconut, with the green flecks of cilantro on top and the small white-and-orange cubes of squash and chicken in the sauce. Mama said, eating, baby, the kitchen has crossed the curry border. The list of countries the kitchen has crossed since 2016 is now eight: Italy, Mexico, Greece, Spain, Vietnam, Japan, India, Hawaii. The savings envelope is at $570 with the new pay rate.

The recipe is below, the way A Family Feast wrote it. The trick I want you to keep is the spice bloom — cook the curry powder and garam masala in the hot rendered chicken fat for thirty seconds before adding the liquid; the heat releases the flavors in a way that adding spices to a wet sauce later cannot match. Use full-fat coconut milk. Serve over jasmine rice with cilantro and lime.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 5

Ingredients

• For the chicken marinade:
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• For the sauce:
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken. In a bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, paprika, and salt. Add the chicken pieces and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
2. Cook the chicken. Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade, shaking off excess. Sear the chicken in batches until golden on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Build the sauce. In the same pan, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
4. Add the spices. Stir in the cumin, garam masala, paprika, coriander, and cayenne. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the spices are toasted and aromatic.
5. Simmer with tomatoes. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
6. Finish with cream. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream and sugar. Return the seared chicken and any accumulated juices to the pan. Simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is rich and creamy.
7. Season and serve. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve over steamed basmati rice or with warm naan bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 30g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 520mg