herbal renewal

Back in the cold, dark days of college, I used to really enjoy getting dinner at a place called Bhindi Bazaar at 95 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston. One of the things I loved to eat there was the awesomely tangy and spicy chicken cafreal, which is a Goan dish of chicken bathed in a green, cilantro-based curry. I have agonized about not being able to find cafreal on many restaurants' menus, and when I do, would it be the same? Imagine my delight when, last night, I found a recipe online claiming to be Bhindi Bazaar's recipe for chicken cafreal. Joy! I decided to follow it verbatim to test the results...and the verdict is: pretty, pretty, pretty good. There are a couple of things I will tweak next time to make it better, but this recipe will be a staple in our files from now on (my adjustments included in recipe below).

A quick bit of information, in case you wanted some: this recipe uses cilantro and turmeric. Both are known anti-inflammatory agents. I read somewhere, too, that cilantro has antibacterial powers. So, eat up!

Chicken Cafreal
Serves: 4
Cook time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes

You'll need:
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, diced to 1 inch pieces
2 onions, diced
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large bunch of fresh cilantro
4 garlic cloves
2 C. fat free greek style yogurt
1 t. turmeric
3 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1 lemon, juiced
2 limes, juiced
5 T. olive oil
4 green chiles (jalapenos) de-stemmed and de-seeded, roughly chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped or grated
Salt

Part 1: The Chicken
Dice the chicken into one inch cubes. Measure 1/2 C. greek style fat free yogurt into a bowl, and add 1 t. turmeric. Salt, and stir well with a fork to combine. Toss in chicken, turn to coat, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.

Part 2: The Tomato and Onion Base
Peel and dice your onions, and sautee them with 3 T. olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes until they are translucent. Peel your garlic and either chop or crush it into the pan with the onions. Next, chop your peeled tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir, then add 3 t. coriander and 1 t. cumin, plus 1 t. salt, plus your ginger. Sautee for an additional 5 minutes, until onions are translucent and mixture is fragrant. Turn off heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Place in food processor or blender and mix on high for 1 minute until completely paste-like.

Part 3: The Green Curry
Roughly tear or chop the entire bunch of rinsed cilantro, and put it in your food processor or blender. Add the juice from the lemon and limes, plus the 4 green chiles (I used jalapenos, de-seeded). Add 2 T. olive oil, and blend or process on high speed for 1 minute or more until mixture is completely paste-like.

All together now:
In a deep skillet, add the onion and tomato base, and turn heat on low. Remove your chicken from the fridge, and place into onion and tomato base. Stir to combine, then cover and let simmer with the LID ON for 15-20 minutes. Occasionally lift lid and stir chicken. Meanwhile, add 1 C. yogurt to your green curry mixture, and stir well to combine. When chicken is cooked through, take skillet off heat. Add green curry and yogurt mixture, and stir until heated through. Taste, and adjust seasonings before serving.

Serve over cooked white basmati rice, with a tall, cold Kingfisher beer.