Childhood Chicken Curry

When I was a child, there were no curry pastes or garam masala mixes and such (that was available locally, that is).  But we had chicken curry!  Often, too!  What did we use?  McCormick curry powder.  I remember that we had a really big bottle of it and it didn't really last long because chicken curry was a stand-by favorite of ours, and it looked something like this--

This is the chicken curry of my childhood.  It was made with a whole chicken cut up into serving pieces (although these days I just buy skinless, boneless chicken thighs) with potatoes, carrots and peas, and sometimes bell peppers.  It was a snap to cook, too.  No coconut milk or coconut cream... instead we used evaporated milk... and sometimes (gasp) just plain water!

About 1 kilogram of skinless, boneless chicken thighs
2 thin slices of ginger
2 whole onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 to 3 tablespoons of curry powder
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup water or chicken stock
1 medium sized carrot, cubed
2 large potatoes, cubed
salt and pepper, to taste

Clean the thighs and cut into 2 or 3 pieces per thigh.  Or use a whole chicken cut up into serving pieces.

Saute the ginger, onions and garlic until fragrant; then add the curry powder (personally I use 2 heaping tablespoonfuls but it really depends on your personal taste).  Stir fry a few seconds then add the chicken thighs.  Stir things around until the thighs are coated with the curry powder then add the milk and water/stock; mix well.  Add the potatoes and carrots; adjust seasonings according to personal taste.  Simmer until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through, and the sauce is thickened.

Serve over rice!!!