Chicken Thighs in Coconut Curry cream

I know I have been posting a lot of Chicken recipes lately. It is partly due to having a restricted budget. It is mostly because I have also renewed my love for it because it just tastes so darn good and because it is so flexible and can be made with so many different sauces. Today I am sharing a very easy recipe because it is made with a few store bought pastes. Here are the ingredients and recipe:

Half a dozen medium to large chicken thighs (skin on is OK and preferable)
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Two large cloves of Garlic (minced)
1/2 cup of water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can of coconut milk
3 tsp Green Curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
4 tsp Roasted Red Chili Paste (Thai Kitchen brand)
1 tsp mild yellow curry powder (get this from your local indian/spice market)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger (sliced thin)
1 Blade of fresh lemongrass (sliced thin)
4 large Basil leaves
1/2 large red pepper (in thin slices)


Heat the olive oil in a large roasting pan or medium dutch oven add the garlic and chicken thighs and cook until the skin is a light brown color. Add the water, salt and pepper and cover the pan. Simmer on high heat for 20-25 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through and render its juices. 

Remove the chicken and the rendered juices from the pan leaving only about 2 Tablespoons of the rendered liquid in the pan. (At this point you can also remove the skin from the chicken if it had any on it) Set the Chicken aside while you make the creamy curry sauce.

Put the coconut milk in the roasting pan with the 2 TBSP of juices that were left in it and allow it to warm up on medium high heat. Slowly incorporate the green curry paste, roasted red chili paste and yellow curry into the coconut milk. Incorporating the ingredients slowly ensures that your sauce will be creamy and smooth by allowing you to break up any lumps that start forming (especially when you add the yellow curry powder). Bring to a simmer and add the ginger, lemon grass and basil and allow the flavors to seep in for 5 minutes.

Put the chicken thighs back in the pan and coat with the curry cream. Cover the pan and allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for about ten minutes. Add the red pepper slices and cover again for an additional five minutes.

Voila! your chicken is ready to serve with whatever accompaniments you feel like having. I usually like serving it over rice so that the rice can absorb any sauce that drips down from the chicken.