There are Indian curries, South African curries, Malaysian curries, Thai curries, and just about any cuisine influenced by the Indian Subcontinent has a curry. The best three chicken curries I ever had were 1) at an Irish pub in Punta Gorda, Florida, 2) a Balti curry in Birmingham, England, and 3) a funky little cafe in Bocas del Toro, Panama. British pub style chicken curries are by far my favorite. If you want that penultimate comfort food flavor, don't skip the butter! This is my version of the British pub style curry, similar to an Indian butter chicken. Classic British pub style chicken curry has carrots and onions as the vegetable. I added peas for color. This is the high calorie version but you could cut calories by using milk, instead of half n half or light cream. Adding the chutney at the end is optional. It adds a touch of sweetness. This recipe feeds about 4 people, double the recipe for larger portions.
British Pub Style Chicken Curry
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup of frozen peas, thawed
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 T tomato paste
2 T butter
1 T mild curry powder
1.5 T flour
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup hot chicken stock
1/2 cup half n half or light cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 T chutney (optional)
1. Cut chicken into small cubes. Sautés in oil for about 4 minutes until chicken turns white on all sides.
2. Add carrots and onion and continue to sauté on medium heat until onions are softened, about 5 minutes
3. Turn off heat. Add tomato paste and stir until distributed throughout.
4. Add curry powder, flour, and cumin and stir until everything is coated.
5. Add chicken stock and butter, stir until everything is mixed, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add cream and simmer an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add peas during the last 2 minutes.
7. Right before serving, stir in chutney (optional)
Serve over rice of egg noodles.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! I moved to NYC in the mid-70's. I was a newly agency-signed model with no money. One day while out on go-sees I stumbled across an Irish Pub that advertised Chicken Curry & Rice on their sandwich board. And the price was right for my budget. So I ventured inside and consumed what became a memorable delight for me. Over the years I resorted to using Knorr's curry packet, which wasn't a good as the pub's but it sufficed until they discontinued it. Then after a visit to the UK, just before the pandemic set in, my zest for a good chicken curry was revived. Since we had to stay at home, I searched high and low for a recipe that seemed similar to what I'd had all those years ago in that pub. I found your's and it has definitely fulfilled my desire to replicate that dish! Yum! And I was at my hairdresser's last week and mentioned this dish and its ingredients to her and she asked me to share it so she could make it for her family that night. She loved it so much she sent me a pic of her dish. We're both happy fans here!
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