Pittsburgh Curry Chicken

Today was the day when I decided that I should replicate the chicken curry recipe which I learnt in the faraway Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The initial period of being terribly homesick, led the then reticent me to seek out the Singapore recipe for chicken curry. A fellow Singaporean shared with me her family recipe tweaked slightly due to the availability of the ingredients in Pittsburgh and to cater to the palate of her little ones at home.

The curry which I shall now name, Pittsburgh Chicken Curry, which used to evoke that soothing, nostagic feeling, now has another meaning to it. It symbolises the bonding that we have together as a family and also with other fellow Singaporeans in a foreign land. Today's curry chicken was a success and a hot favorite with my two primary school going boys.

So here is the recipe (enough for 4 persons) which I hope my boys will pick it up when they are older:

The ingredients are
- 1 heapful tablespoon of curry powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground chilli powder
- 1 medium-size onion (to chop into small pieces)
- 4-5 small potato (to remove the skin)
- 3-4 medium-size carrots (remove the skin and cut into medium pieces)
- 800g to 1 kg of chicken pieces (can be all chicken wings/ leg if desired)
- 1 can of evaporated milk
- half can of plain water
- a pinch of salt

Steps (Estimated time to prepare- 30 to 45 minutes)
- Marinate the chicken pieces with the curry powder for around 15 minutes
- Chop the onion into small pieces and add the chilli powder
- Cut the potato and carrots
- In a pot, heat some cooking oil (about 3-4 table spoons or so, just enough to coat the pot with oil), pan fry the potatoes and carrots, until one can smell the fragrant. Then scoop up the potatoes and carrots and leave aside.
- Now, add the chopped onion with chilli powder and fry until the onion fragrant is in the air.
- Next, add the marinated chicken pieces and stir them together with the onions-cum-chilli mix, until the chicken pieces are about 75% cooked.
- Add in the evaporated milk plus half can of water, bring the mix to boil.
- Add the potatoes and carrots.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes for all to soften, if need be, one may need to scoop up the chicken pieces, leave aside and add to the mix when the potatoes and carrots have softened.
- Add a pinch of salt and the curry is ready.

A little tip - if you want more curry gravy, be judicious with water. Instead, you can consider adding fresh milk or skimmed fresh milk.