Crispy Curried Chicken

What are the first things that come to mind when someone says "Indian food?" For me, it's: spicy, soupy, oily, rich, fatty, laborious, curry powder...curry powder...

While I'm not the biggest fan of Indian cuisine, I absolutely love spicing things up with curry powder. That probably makes no sense and you're thinking, "if she likes curry powder, she likes Indian food. Duh." But, everyone can be a little picky, right? While I like the spice that is curry powder, I'm not fully on board (yet) with traditional Indian dishes like chole bhature (A spiced, curried chickpea dish) or rogan josh (a lamb or goat curry).

Actually, if I'm being honest, I usually avoid it at all costs. Give me Mexican, Greek, Italian...literally any other regional type of food before Indian. But I recently tried a Crispy Curried Chicken recipe from one of my favorite blogs Crepes of Wrath. It's simple and delicious - just my style; chicken drumsticks and thighs are marinated in a spiced coconut milk mixture, then baked until perfection. I've been thinking about it naan stop since I first tried it.

First, combine the coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, salt, ginger, cardamom, peppers, shallot, lime juice and lime zest in a bowl. All the colors!

Then, place the chicken pieces in a bag or large, shallow dish and pour the marinade over top. Refrigerate for an hour or two, or as long as overnight. I used a large glass baking pan and marinated, covered with aluminum foil, for about 2.5 hours.

Next, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling rack inside the sheet. This helps the chicken stay dry and crispy. If you don't have a tray, it's fine to just put the chicken directly in the pan, but it won't be quite as crispy. And we love crispy chicken!

Put the chicken on the tray and then the tray in the oven; bake for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and turn it on it's other side; bake for another 20 minutes. Flip the chicken a final time and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until crispy.

Yes and yesssss.

If by the third turn, your chicken isn't getting as crispy as you like, you can turn up the oven to 425F to speed things up. Lastly, top with torn cilantro leaves and sprinkle with sea salt.

Keep calm and curry on.

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Crispy Curried Chicken

• 10-12 chicken thighs and/or drumsticks, skin on
• 1 14.5 ounce can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2-3 hot peppers, finely minced or sliced (I used 1 jalapeño, 1 serrano and 1 cherry pepper)
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime
• Cilantro, for garnish
• Sea salt, for garnish

1. First, marinate your chicken for at least an hour or two. Combine your coconut milk, curry powder, turmeric, salt, ginger, cardamom, peppers, shallot, lime juice and lime zest in a bowl. Place your chicken pieces in a bag or large, shallow dish and pour the marinade over top. Refrigerate for an hour or two, or as long as overnight. The longer the better!

2. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then place a cooling tray inside the pan, if you have one - this will help the chicken stay dry and, therefore, crispy. If you don't have a tray, it's fine to just put the chicken directly in the pan, but it won't be quite as crispy.

3. Line the chicken up on the tray, and bake for 20 minutes. Flip the chicken and bake for another 20 minute. Flip the chicken a final time and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until crispy. Turn the oven up to 425F for this final step if you want to speed things up a bit.

4. Once golden and crisp, remove from the oven, place in a bowl and garnish with cilantro and sea salt. Serve with a simple salad or some naan.