Coconut Chicken Curry With Cashews
- Total Time
- About 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut in 3-inch chunks
- Salt and pepper
- 1tablespoon grated ginger
- 2teaspoons grated garlic
- ¼teaspoon cloves
- ¼teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼teaspoon cardamom seeds
- ¼teaspoon allspice berries
- ¼teaspoon cumin seeds
- ¼teaspoon coriander seeds
- ¼teaspoon turmeric
- ¼teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste
- 3tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾cup raw cashews
- ¼cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut
- 1pound small parsnips, peeled and cut in 2-inch batons, optional
- 2tablespoons ghee, coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 1½cups finely diced onion
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 12-inch piece cinnamon stick
- 3cups chicken broth or water
- 1cup thick coconut milk
- A few sprigs mint and cilantro for garnish, optional
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
695 calories; 49 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 34 grams protein; 1082 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Season chicken generously with salt and pepper and put it in a mixing bowl. Add ginger and garlic and massage into meat. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast cloves, fennel, cardamom, allspice, cumin and coriander until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Grind the toasted spices to a fine powder in an electric spice mill and add to chicken. Add turmeric, cayenne and lemon juice and mix well. Let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate up to 1 hour.
- Step 2
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put cashews on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Spread the shredded coconut on the baking sheet and toast until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then let cool. Grind the coconut with ¼ cup cashews in a spice mill or small food processor to make a rough powder. Reserve ½ cup roasted cashews for garnish.
- Step 3
Bring a small saucepan of lightly salted water to a simmer, then add parsnips and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool.
- Step 4
In a wide heavy-bottomed pot, heat ghee over medium-high heat. Add cooked parsnips, if using, and sauté until lightly browned. Remove and reserve. Add chicken pieces to the pot, stirring occasionally until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then remove and set aside. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes more. Add tomato paste and let it sizzle with onions for a minute or two. Add broth and bring to a brisk simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping up any caramelized bits from the pot. Add cinnamon stick, chicken and the ground coconut and cashew mixture. Adjust heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until chicken is tender. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Step 5
To finish the dish, stir in coconut milk and add reserved parsnips. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until parsnips are heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with reserved cashews. Garnish with mint and cilantro sprigs, if using.
Private Notes
Comments
This dish is super easy - I didn't follow the process exactly but the overall idea - I didn't use all the marinade spices mentioned but used garam masala to marinate the chicken with in garlic. You get shredded cococut at the Indian grocery store and cashews and you make a paste together after soaking the cashews. Used potatoes instead of parsnips. It was delicious just not having to do those steps cut the time down to under 30 minutes. Talk about a quick and easy weeknight meal.
Thick coconut milk refers to the amount of coconut cream in the can. Regular supermarkets often carry a limited choice, but an Asian market will give the actual amount. If memory serves 60% is a good number for 'thick' milk. Check the other cans and pick the highest percentage. It makes a huge difference!
I mostly followed the recipe, but made these changes: -
I followed the recommendations from reviews and only used 1 cup of chicken broth.
I also just used the ground spices I had instead of buying whole seeds.
I added peas and used sweet potatoes instead of parsnips.
I used 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk.
Really delicious and straight forward recipe. We served it with homemade naan (easy too!) my four year old especially loved this- highly recommend.
I make this in the spirit of the ingredients, but I do not have a huge kitchen so using so many pans would make this more difficult. I start with cooking the parsnips with sweet potato and carrot since we like curry with lots of vegetables, then I cook the onion with the garlic and ginger, add the spices, then the chicken. I omit the tomato paste and add a little more lemon juice and put the entire can of coconut milk in it instead of measuring a cup. I do not toast the cashews or coconut.
This is hard work & time consuming, but delicious!
This was AMAZING! I was skeptical that it could really be better *enough* to warrant the extra work, but it was really, really good. I used red potatoes instead of parsnips, and cooked as otherwise directed. To make it slightly easier next time, I would not worry about the coconut cream and just use a can of coconut milk. I would not pre-cook the potatoes and instead just throw them in to cook with the chicken. And I would bake the cashews and coconut together-ish since it’s almost all going to the same place.