curried chicken salad

I subscribe to the belief that most of the cuisines of the world are basically the same, except for some differences in spices and grains. Especially when you’re in the States and eating Americanized versions of any ethnic cuisine. Before I moved to San Francisco, I suggested to my dad that we go to a local Indian restaurant for dinner. My dad wasn’t sold on the idea. His excuse for not wanting to go was “what if I don’t like it?”

“They serve meat and rice. You’ll like it.”

And he did. In my quest to expand my dad’s palate, I made him a curried chicken salad to take with him to lunch. After all, what could be more harmless and Midwestern than a chicken salad? He did end up liking it, or so he told me at the time. Before leaving for San Francisco, I intentionally left the bottle of curry powder behind so my dad could experiment with it. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s been collecting dust ever since, but I can still hope.

I’ve since lost the recipe that I used last year, but when I saw a recipe for curried chicken salad over at Mehan’s Kitchen, I knew I had to make it. Admittedly, I never take a lot of time to prepare lunch for myself. Lunch usually consists of leftovers from dinner or anything in the kitchen that doesn’t require too much effort. I’m trying to get into the habit of spending more time preparing lunches and I figured a curried chicken salad would be a perfect place to start. I love the contrast between the savoriness from the curry powder and the sweetness from the grapes.

Curried Chicken Salad
(adapted from Mehan’s Kitchen)
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1 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/2 c slivered almonds or cashews (I used cashews)
1.5 seedless red grapes
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 small onion, finely chopped (preferably red, but I used yellow)
1 T mustard
2 T curry powder
1 t paprika
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 mayonnaise
olive oil
water
fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish

- Preheat oven to 350F. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Coat with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until easy enough to handle. Remove the skin and bone and cube chicken into bite-sized pieces.

- Add mustard, curry powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, mayonnaise, a couple tablespoons of olive oil to a large mixing bowl and stir. Add chicken, almonds, grapes, celery, and onion and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Stir in 1/4 cup water to thin out the dressing, add another 1/4 c of water if it’s too thick. Garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley.

Serves 4

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5. honey mustard chicken

Tags: chicken, easy, gluten-free, indian-inspired, lunch