Chicken Curry with Vegetables

Curry is the quintessential guy recipe. It's fast, relatively easy to make, and yields disproportionately high benefits: it's delicious, and it impresses women. When I lived in my first post-college apartment in Boston years ago, curry was the first thing I learned how to cook. This recipe has been refined through experimentation, and remains a work in progress.

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, chopped
1 Yukon Gold potato, chopped
1/4-1/2 pound chicken, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups water
1 apple, cut into slices
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tbsp. peanut butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tbsp. oil and 1/2 tbsp. butter over medium high heat in saute pan. Add onion and cook until yellowed, stirring occasionally with spatula, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add curry powder and stir with spatula; reduce heat to medium. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes or so, less if you're using leftover or precooked chicken.

Meanwhile, you should be preparing the stock, heating to a boil. At the same time, peel the apple and cut into slices. Drop it into a blender, add a small amount of water, and puree for a few seconds. Once the stock has begun to boil, add a tbsp. of flour, a little at a time, and beat with a whisk to avoid clumping. Add 1/2 tbsp peanut butter and beat into mixture. Add apple slurry to mixture, and stir together.

Add stock-slurry mixture to saute pan; add vegetables. Begin heating water and beating in additional flour; add as much flour as desired to achieve desired thickness. Cover pan and cook for approximately 30-45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice, and with fresh chopped cilantro (optional). Serves 2-3.

Feel free to substitute vegetables and meat with whatever is on hand. Beets are especially fun, because they turn the entire mixture red and then you have BLOOD CURRY.