Hi Readers!
I
am Hazel's penpal Natalie. My little family lives in North Carolina,
outside a minor town called Fayetteville, surrounded by cotton fields
and the occasional trailer or horse. I am originally an urban girl from
Seattle who's had short stop overs in Oahu and Richmond on my road to
NC. I miss my Starbucks and 5 Targets within 20 miles! I am also a new
Army wife (at least it feels new- 2 years?) and mom to a little ball of
personality named Georgiana- who is turning 1 this month!

I love all things foreign... I
am the girl who was thrilled! to do country reports in school, obsessed
with Asian Supermarkets, and is annoyed I am a huge mix of blah
European heritage that my family never cared to share or explore. I was
so excited to be paired with my British penpal- they have the coolest
things (bring on the Earl Grey)! After an exchange of emails,
I received a extremely thoughtful foreign filled ethnic food box. Such
loot! Channa Masala and Apricot Chicken Curry recipes and ingredients,
quality flavored British teas, unique European brand flavored nuts (with
ingredients such as chili and mango), and homemade Basil and Pinenut
pesto (excess of basil results in fun gifts and tasty food products-
been there!). The typed letter and enclosed instructions were wonderful
to read for clarity and fun explanation. I have never had a penpal so
detailed :)
When
asked to do a post, which surprisingly in my years time doing foodie
penpals had never happened, I thought it would be fun to cook one of the
recipes I was sent to share with you. Hazel's Apricot Chicken Curry
toddler recipe (sourced from her favorite British baby food maker's
book) sounded delicious, but unfortunately my little tot only has one
tooth- that did not stop me from selecting the recipe for my Husband and
I- more for us! To accommodate adult appetites, I doubled the toddler
version (originally stated yield was 2-3 toddler portions). Previously,
I have only attempted Japanese curry (more like yummy gravy!) and Thai
red curry. Indian curry always seemed so daunting.
Steps I took-
I cooked one minced shallot in a good heavy swirl of olive oil in a deep fry pan on medium head for about a minute.
I
added 4 heavy handed teaspoons of mild curry to the shallots and
toasted the curry for less than a minute with the shallots- stirring to
coat the shallots and the pan.
I
chopped 8 moist, dried apricots and opened a can of creamy coconut
milk. After added the apricots and coconut milk to the curried
shallots,I brought the mixture to a boil (happened really fast) and then
reduced and simmered for 5 minutes.
I
started 2/3 cup brown jasmine rice is my rice cooker to accompany the
curry. I cut up about a half a pound of raw chicken tenders and added
them to the curry mixture. I set the timer for 15 minutes since the
chicken was cut in smaller pieces and because the curry was already on
the thicker side. I placed a nice sized premade piece of naan in the
oven a few minutes before the curry finished to heat through.
End product! Yum!
Things
I discovered cooking Apricot Chicken Curry recipe- The sauce thickens
quickly when using full fat coconut milk (we usually use light coconut
milk), the chicken stays really moist and fork tender simmered in a
thick coconut curry, the apricots can be cut as larger chunks (maybe
that would make their flavor pop more?), tastes fabulous with naan!, and
the recipe version tested makes two perfect plate licking portions.
Also, that sirachi goes on anything? So says the Husband!
When
starting the recipe, my Husband was hovering to smell the flavors and
as we ended our meal he was a member of the clean plate club. Great
evidence of a wonder experience and tasty dinner thanks to my wonderful
penpal. I was blown away by how easy it was to make Indian curry. From
the very beginning the recipe was simple to follow and drool inspiring. I
am so jealous that English people have such easy access to curries! I
will trade them my access to Hispanic food anyday! More curries- less
Taco Bell and Azteca please! ;)
Please
try it for yourself- I promise you will love it- we did! Hopefully one
day Georgiana will get more teeth and I can start her on her path to
being a toddler foodie with Apricot Chicken Curry versus her current
dinner eats.
Thank you to Natalie for her guest post and how cute is Georgiana!
Xx
Xx
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