Curry Chicken with Beans and Tomatoes

Looking for something to do with those delicious ‘U-Pick’ beans? Try this comforting curry.

Ingredients:

 1.5 lbs chicken thighs

 1 lb string beans

 3/4 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 1 teaspoon Caribbean green seasoning (see notes)

 2 tablespoons veg oil

 1.5 tablespoon curry powder (Madras type)

 1/4 teaspoon amchar massala (optional) or cumin

 1 shallot, chopped

 4 cloves garlic

 5 birds eye pepper (aka bird pepper or Red Thai chili)

 1 cup coconut milk

 1 handful Cherry Tomatoes

Method:

 Cut the chicken into 1 -2-inch pieces, wash and drain.

 Then season with salt, black pepper, green seasoning and amchar massala (you can also use ground roasted cumin) and allow to marinate for about 1 hour. In the meantime, trim the string beans (simply cut off the tips and cut into 2 inch pieces).

 Heat the oil in a fairly large pan on med-high, then add the chopped shallot (you can also use onion) and garlic and turn the heat down to low. Cook this gently for about 3 minutes.Then add the curry powder and stir well. Cook for a further 3 minutes to get the raw curry taste out. It will go darker in color and go a bit grainy.

 Now add the peppers (do not break them unless you want the heat) and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the seasoned chicken and mix well to deglaze the pan and to coat the chicken pieces with the curry base. Turn the heat up to medium/high and cook the chicken without the lid for about 4-5 minutes.

 Then add the trimmed beans and coconut milk (remember to give it a good stir) and bring to a boil. Place the lid on the pan, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes (depending on how well you like your beans cooked).

 Remove the lid and taste the dish. Adjust salt. You can also personalize the dish at this point. Depending if you want gravy or not, you can turn up the heat and simmer off all the remaining liquid.

 Try to not overcook the beans as it will take on a soggy texture and loose it’s bright flavor.

 Toss in cherry tomatoes, turn off the heat and replace the lid. The residual heat will soften the tomatoes, so it does not go to mush and gives the dish some color.

Options and Notes:

The boneless chicken thighs were used, but feel free to use bone-in (about 2lbs) and cook a little longer.

Do NOT cut the peppers, simply remove the stems and use whole to get some flavor from them, without the raw heat. If you don’t have birds eye pepper/Red Thai chili available, other substitutes are cayenne pepper, serrano pepper, jalapeño pepper, habanero pepper, and scotch bonnets.

IMPORTANT: If doing this recipe gluten free, do ensure that the curry powder has no flour filler to meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

This recipe is from the Caribbean Pot website. If you would like to see more photos of the process, check out this link. Classic Coconut Curry Chicken With String Beans. (caribbeanpot.com) The information on how to make Caribbean green seasoning is very helpful. It makes a large amount, but I have cut the recipe down successfully before. https://caribbeanpot.com/caribbean-green-seasoning/