Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes is a lip-smacking, delicious comfort food often found at hawker stalls in Singapore.  This easy recipe can be made at home in about 50  minutes.

The trick I found that worked well was to make a curry spice paste using store-bought curry powder (with turmeric) and add lots of fresh aromatics and more spices. A true curry recipe will toast the spices and then grind them into a powder first.  Blending fresh ginger, shallots, garlic and spices in a food processor plus the curry powder makes it much easier and gives a great result.

I wanted to use ingredients that are easy to obtain at local grocery stores, so  I swapped the traditional candlenuts with macadamia nuts.  If you can find fresh curry leaves in a speciality store, they add a nice touch but are optional. The level of spiciness  is really is up to you. Authentic curry can be very spicy. You can adjust the amount of red chili peppers to add to the paste. Using the seeds will also add lots of heat.  This recipe is mild-ish with just 3 dried, seeded, whole Chinese red chili peppers.  You can substitute Serrano or Thai chili peppers too. I'd like to give a shout out to food blogger, Chee Huey at bellyfulloflove for the inspiration on this recipe.

Serve the Yellow Curry with a traditional type of fried flat bread called Roti Prata. Since this dish has potatoes, rice is not needed. However, you may still want to serve a side of steamed rice to ease the heat.

Update: Nico Rosberg won the Singapore Grand Prix in a tough race despite brakes management issues due to the extreme heat. Vettel had to start last on the pole due to mechanical issues during qualifying, however ended up 5th at the end.  Looks like Mercedes and Nico are on their way to the World Championship. Malaysia is in two weeks.

The Singapore Grand Prix should be one of the most exciting and interesting on the F1 calendar this year. According to BBC Sports, they describe the race as "tough, humid and all lit up...The track jags through the city centre under lights, Chinese lanterns adding a dash of color, the futuristic city skyline the backdrop". It is a night race with 23 different curves over 60 laps. Can't wait. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has won Singapore 4 times. The big question is will he be able to make a 5th. The Mercedes team with Hamilton and Rosberg are tough to beat this year.

Chris Hemsworth is looking forward to Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes and the Singapore Grand Prix!

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Singapore Grand Prix: Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Author Homemade Italian Cooking with Cara

Ingredients

For the Curry Spice Paste (easy version)

• 6 macadamia nuts
• 4 large shallots peeled and halved
• 4 large cloves garlic peeled
• 3 dried whole red chillies soaked to soften, deseeded, cut in half (adjust to taste)
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger peeled, cut in half
• 3 tablespoons yellow curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

For the Yellow Curry with Chicken and Potatoes

• 2 large chicken breast skinless, boneless, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion chopped into large bite-size pieces
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 6 small white potatoes cut in half or quarters
• 1 stalk lemongrass bottom third, trimmed and bruised
• 1 cup green beans trimmed and cut in thirds
• 4 curry leaves optional
• Red bell pepper slices cilantro, and lime wedges for garnish

Instructions

• To make the Curry Spice Paste: Place all the spice paste ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until a thick paste, adding a little more water if necessary, Also scrape down the sides to help the paste blend completely. Scoop out the mixture into a mixing bowl.

To Make the Yellow Curry

• Coat the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the Curry Paste and soy sauce in a small bowl. Let marinate while making the sauce.
• In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining Curry Paste and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until it fragrant. Keep stirring to keep from burning on the bottom.
• Add the chicken pieces and onions and mix in with the paste. Stir-fry about 5 minutes, or until slightly dry.
• Add the coconut milk, water, potatoes, lemongrass and curry leaves (if using) and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add more water or coconut milk if needed to barely cover the chicken. Simmer gently with the pot uncovered until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are fork tender, about 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust salt and spiciness if needed.
• Add the green beans the last 5 minutes.
• Serve hot with in deep soup bowls and with steamed rice or Roti Prata (flat bread) on the side.
• Garnish with fresh red bell pepper slices, cilantro and lime wedges.