Kylling i Karry med Ris

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, 3-4 litre
• •Medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid for the rice

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the chicken

   Pat the chicken pieces dry with kitchen paper and season them with salt and white pepper. Melt half the butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. When the butter foams, add the chicken in a single layer. Don't crowd the pot. Work in two batches if you need to. Brown the pieces on all sides until golden, about three minutes per side. The crust you build here is not just color. It's fond, the caramelized layer on the bottom of the pot that will dissolve into the sauce and give it depth. Set the chicken aside on a plate.

   If you crowd the pot, the chicken steams instead of browning. Steam means no fond, and no fond means a flat sauce. Give each piece room.
2. 2

   Soften the onions and apple

   Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the remaining butter to the pot. Add the diced onions and a pinch of salt. Stir them through the butter and the brown bits on the bottom. Cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are completely soft and starting to turn golden at the edges. Add the diced apple and cook for two minutes more until it begins to soften. The apple will dissolve into the sauce as it simmers. It gives the curry its quiet sweetness and body, something cream alone cannot do.

   Use a tart apple. Granny Smith works well. A sweet apple pushes the sauce toward cloying, and the banana on the side already brings the sweetness you need.
3. 3

   Toast the curry and build the roux

   Sprinkle the curry powder over the onions and apple. Stir it in and let it toast in the butter for thirty seconds, no longer. This is the moment the dish comes alive. Raw curry powder tastes dusty and one-dimensional. Thirty seconds of heat in hot butter and it opens up, turns fragrant, fills the kitchen with something warm and golden. You'll smell the difference the instant it happens. Now add the flour and stir it through. Cook for one minute. The flour and butter form a roux that will thicken the sauce without any starchiness, but only if you cook the raw flour taste out first.

   Danish curry powder, called karry, is milder and sweeter than most. If you're using a hot Madras blend, start with one tablespoon, taste, and add more carefully.
4. 4

   Simmer the chicken in the sauce

   Pour in the chicken stock gradually, stirring as you go. The roux will seize at first, then loosen into a smooth sauce as you keep adding liquid. Drop in the bay leaf. Return the chicken pieces and any juices from the plate to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer. Put the lid on slightly askew, so steam can escape, and let the curry cook for twenty minutes. The sauce will thicken as it reduces, and the chicken will turn tender enough to cut with a spoon. Stir once or twice to make sure nothing catches on the bottom.

   A gentle simmer means small lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil. If the sauce boils hard, the chicken toughens and the sauce reduces too fast.
5. 5

   Cook the rice

   While the curry simmers, rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. This washes off the surface starch that would otherwise make the grains clump together. Put the rice in a saucepan with 450ml of cold water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stir once, then put the lid on and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Leave it alone for twelve minutes. Don't lift the lid. The rice steams itself, and every time you open the lid you lose the steam that does the work. After twelve minutes, take the pan off the heat and let it sit with the lid on for five minutes more. Then fluff it with a fork.

6. 6

   Finish with cream and serve

   Remove the bay leaf from the curry. Pour in the heavy cream and stir it through. Let the sauce come back to a gentle simmer for two or three minutes, just enough for the cream to warm through and marry with the rest. Do not let it boil. Cream that boils can split, and the sauce goes from silky to grainy in seconds. Taste the sauce now. Adjust the salt. It should be mellow, creamy, gently spiced, with a warmth that sits at the back of your tongue rather than burning the front. Spoon the rice onto warm plates or into shallow bowls. Ladle the curry alongside. Set the sliced banana, a bowl of mango chutney, and the peanuts on the table and let people help themselves. That's how this meal works. The condiments are not afterthoughts. They're the counterpoints that make the dish whole. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Danish curry powder, called karry, is milder and sweeter than what you'll find in most other cuisines. If you can find a Danish brand, use it. If all you have is a hot Madras blend, start with one tablespoon, taste the sauce after simmering, and add more carefully. The character of this dish is warmth, not fire.
• •The apple dissolves into the sauce as it cooks. That's the intention. It gives the curry a gentle body and sweetness that cream alone can't provide. Use a tart variety: Granny Smith, or a Danish Ingrid Marie or Belle de Boskoop if you can find one. A sweet apple makes the sauce cloying, and the banana on the side already brings all the sweetness you need.
• •Banana, chutney, and peanuts are part of the architecture of this dish, not optional garnish. The banana should be ripe but firm enough to hold its shape when sliced. Set everything on the table in small bowls and let people build their own plate. That's how this meal has always worked.
• •The curry is better the next day. The sauce deepens overnight and the spices settle into something rounder and more complete. If you're cooking for a weeknight, making it on Sunday and reheating gently on Tuesday is a good strategy. Add a splash of stock when you reheat if the sauce has thickened too much.

Advance Preparation

• •The curry keeps in the fridge for three days and improves overnight. Reheat gently over medium-low heat, adding a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened. Do not boil the reheated sauce or the cream will split.
• •It freezes well for up to two months. Freeze in portions and defrost in the fridge overnight. The rice is best made fresh each time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)