Curry Chicken

You know we all have that one dish that screams "MOM"? At least I do... Curry chicken is that dish for me. I don't remember if it's because I have said it was delicious in some distant past but she makes it all the time... or was it the fact that this is one of the very few dishes that I would eat leftovers and wouldn't give her a hard time... I've tried to replicate it over the years but there was only 1 time when I thought... "ok, this taste like hers". So I have my mom wrote down what she does... yet, mine taste nothing like hers... it's still good... just different...

1. Wash chicken, rub it with salt and curry powder and let it sit for an hour (I like to add a little bit of black pepper too).
2. Chop ginger, garlic, shallots. Mix with red chilli powder. (I added a bit of chilli paste too... just because I want to...) Cook in low heat in a lot of oil. (A lot is a relative term here... since apparently my mom doesn't think so)
3. When you can see the color of #2 change and smell the aroma of the curry, add #1.
4. Turn up the heat and cook until the chicken browns. Stir the chicken only occasionally. (This is not a stir-fry!)
5. Add just a tiny bit of water and chicken powder (apparently, chicken powder is my mom's secret weapon).
6. Cook in low heat until the oil separates and the water evaporated (or until you are happy with it - my mom's exact words).

I think the reason why mine doesn't taste like her because I like to add onions and potatoes to the chicken... sometimes, I throw in carrots too... on top of all my other modifications... Also, I only put 1/3 of the oil she puts... so maybe that's why mine taste different!! But curry without potatoes is not curry to me... or is it just me??? Curry is so versatile you can almost get away with doing anything to it... and leftover curry is so yummy!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)

PS: I also think it's a good time to introduce you guys to my seasoning / spice cabinet... yes it is completely full... and I have even more stashed elsewhere in the kitchen... and I am still buying more... American grocery stores, Costco in particular, forces you to buy in bulk... I would die if I have to eat the same thing everyday... so I cheated a little... I am still technically eating chicken everyday so I don't break my food budget and minimize waste... but using different spices and cooking method will totally change up the ingredients!! so I can still buy family pack and still don't get bored with my food :)

FYI: I cook in small batches because I really, really don't like to eat leftovers...