KUKU PAKA EAST AFRICAN RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Finely grate 3 garlic cloves into a large bowl with a Microplane. Cut 1 lemon in half and squeeze juice through your hand or a fine-mesh sieve into bowl; discard seeds. Mix in 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and ¼ tsp. Kashmiri chile powder. Add 2–3 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 8 large) and toss to evenly coat. Cover bowl and let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the curry base. Coarsely chop 1 medium onion, 1 plum tomato, 1–2 green Thai chiles (depending on how spicy your chiles are and your heat tolerance), and ¼ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems. Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend or process until smooth.
• Heat broiler. Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a high-sided skillet or large pot over medium. Add ¼ tsp. ground coriander, ¼ tsp. ground cumin, and ? tsp. ground turmeric. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in purée and add 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Stir to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, until raw onion smell subsides and curry is paste-like in consistency, 15–20 minutes.
• Arrange chicken on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and broil until cooked through, charred in spots, and a thermometer inserted into the thickest parts registers 165°, 17–20 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, shake one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk to ensure coconut cream is incorporated, then add coconut milk to curry and stir well to combine. Curry should be pale yellow. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until warm and slightly thickened, 5–10 minutes.
• Once chicken is finished, add chicken and any juices accumulated on baking sheet to curry and reduce heat to low; mix well to combine. Stirring constantly to prevent curry from breaking, dribble in ¼ cup heavy cream. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
• Cut remaining 1 lemon into wedges. Serve kuku paka with basmati rice and/or some crusty bread and lemon wedges for squeezing over. Top with additional cilantro to taste.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat and fry the chicken pieces two at a time until well browned, setting aside as you go. Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more oil to the pot if necessary. Fry the onions until they soften, add the garlic and ginger, and continue to fry until fragrant.

  Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli and salt, and stir well to combine with the contents of the pot. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk, stir well, and return the chicken to the pot, covering with the rich curry sauce.

  Bring the pot to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the chicken is very tender, about 15-20 minutes. If the sauce thickens a bit too much, add a little water.

  To serve, squeeze the lemon juice over the curry and scatter with coriander leaves.

  Serve with: Adam Liaw's cucumber, pineapple and chilli pickled salad