Chicken Curry

Step 1: First, toast your spices. In a large pot over high heat, pour in 3 tablespoons of ghee or olive oil. Let it heat until tiny wisps of smoke can be seen. Now add the spice mix. Stir this mixture until the spices begin to turn brown and toast. Approximately 1 minute. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE POT. IT WILL BURN!

Step 2: Once the mixture has browned, add the onions, ginger and the chile pepper, salt the mixture using about 1 teaspoon (you want to hold back on the garlic, once garlic burns it becomes bitter in taste.) After about 2 minutes, you should see the onion begin to change color. Now add the garlic. Cook for another minute over high heat. This step should result in a dark, spicy paste of vegetables and spices.

Step 3: Salt the chicken and then add it to the pot. You may need more oil or ghee at this point; if the pan is too dry, add the remaining tablespoon. Begin to brown the chicken. Approximately 4 minutes.

Step 4: Once the chicken starts to brown, add the wine (you are also using the wine to scrape those up brown bits on the bottom, those little bits are full of flavor, so as soon as you add the wine, use your spoon to start scraping them up into the liquid.

Step 5: Once the wine begins to cook off and be absorbed by the meat, turn down the temperature to medium. Add coconut milk to deglaze again. Once you’ve done this, turn the temperature down to low, cover with a lid, and let cook for about 15 min.

Step 6: Turn off the heat. Stir in the yogurt. Serve over rice.