Cauliflower, Chicken, Potato, and Pea Curry

This is one of my favorite “comfort food” meals, and it has the added bonus of not requiring any particularly exotic ingredients, thus making it easy to make in almost any city… I’ll probably be posting more recipes as I do less traveling, since my non-traveling life doesn’t involve all that much eating out. (Keep in mind that there’s an implicit “or to taste” after any suggested ingredient amount.) This recipe serves 8-9, and I don’t know how to make it serve less without throwing ingredients away. I’ve found (being unable to eat 8 servings in a timely fashion when I make this for myself) that it actually freezes extremely well, so it’s worth it to just make a full batch and throw the extra servings in the freezer for a super-low-maintenance dinner down the road…

Cauliflower, Chicken, Potato, and Pea Curry
Modified from a recipe at Epicurious.com

   1 tablespoon oil or chicken fat (chicken fat is best…)
   2 medium onions, chopped
   3 tablespoons ground coriander
   2-3 tablespoons ground cumin
   1.5 teaspoons turmeric
   0-3 teaspoons dried red-pepper flakes
   6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
   1 large head of cauliflower, cored and broken into bite-sized pieces
   6-8 small potatoes (preferably Yukon Gold), cut into 3/4–inch dice
   1 (14.5 oz) can whole tomatoes (not drained, crushed by hand)
   3/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more to serve
   1 cup water
   1 teaspoon salt
   2 cups frozen petite peas
   Plain yogurt (to serve)

Preheat the oven to 350̊ Fahrenheit.

Heat oil or chicken fat in a large oven-safe dish* over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened and starting to color. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, and red-pepper flakes and stir for about 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir to coat, then add the cauliflower and potatoes and cook, stirring frequently, until the everything is coated in the spice mixture and well-combined.

Add the tomatoes, 1/4 cup of the cilantro, the water, and the salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes. Partially uncover and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30-60 minutes. (Sometimes the potatoes are a bit obstinate and this takes a while longer.) On the stovetop over medium-low heat, stir in the peas and the remaining 1/2 cup cilantro and cook, stirring, until the peas are tender, about 2 minutes longer.

Serve with yogurt, fresh cilantro, and additional red pepper flakes.

Serves 8.


*If you don’t have a dish that can go from stovetop to oven this can all be done on the stovetop. Just simmer over low heat until the potatoes are cooked through, stirring occasionally. I prefer to do this in the oven because I can walk away and ignore it for almost the entire cooking time, rather than being stuck monitoring it and having to stir.