Braised Chicken Curry with Yams

1. Trim the chicken thighs, pat them dry (super important!–this will help them brown well) and put salt and pepper all over both sides of them.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. When it’s very hot, add the chicken thighs and brown them on both sides. You may want to cook the thighs in two batches, because if you overcrowd the pot they will steam instead of frying. It’s important to take your time during this step, because you want a really nice sear. It will probably take 10 minutes per batch. Don’t hurry though–you’re building flavor.

3. While the thighs are browning, roughly chop the onion, mince the garlic and ginger, and peel and chop the banana.

4. Once the thighs are done browning, remove them to a plate.

5. Without cleaning the pot, dump in the onion, ginger and garlic, and cook for about 5-6 minutes over medium heat, until they’re getting golden and wonderful. Stir often so that you don’t burn the garlic!

6. Now add the curry powder. Stir constantly and vigorously for no more than 2 minutes. The spices burn easily, so keep the ingredients in constant motion.

7. Pour in the chicken stock, and add the bay leaves and banana. Stir to scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.

8. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and add the chicken back in. Cover the pot, but leave a little vent for the steam to come out. Let it simmer for an hour and a half.

9. Peel the yams and chop them into medium sized cubes. After the curry has cooked for those 90 minutes, take the lid off the pot and stir in the yams. Cook for 30 more minutes with the pot partially covered–but no longer than that or your yams will get really mushy. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the golden raisins.

10. Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice. Top it with any number of garnishes: cilantro, blanched almonds, coconut flakes, peanuts, lime juice . . . or just eat it as is.