Coq Au Vin Curry
- Prashant Chandra
- Jul 5, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 7, 2020
Serving Size - 2 to 3 People
Cooking time - 30 to 40 Minutes
So one of my efforts - always - in my recipes on Until Golden Brown is to combine techniques from one cuisine to another. In my mind, while the ingredients mostly define the flavour profile of a dish, technique is something that is about the execution and the build up those flavours. So if we were to experiment with main ingredients from one cuisine and technique and few supporting ingredients from another cuisine, it should possibly create variations of dishes that are new and exciting. That is the basic thought and goal behind recipes such as this.
Typically, in Indian Curries, Chicken (or other Meat) is added after the initial Whole Spices are added to the Oil/Ghee and the Onions are browned. Once the Chicken is added it is roasted for a while until it starts looking somewhat white instead of raw pink. And that is typically the extent of roasting it and it is then stewed into a liquid until it is cooked and the dish is ready.
Now, if we compare this with how things work in a typical French style, Meat based dish, almost invariably, the Meat is added first to Oil/Butter, before anything else (sometimes may be some Garlic or Rosemary are added first but that's about it). Here, the Meat is always properly browned first for a Fond to develop in the Pan and the Meat to develop flavour through the process of Maillard reaction (not to be confused with Caramelization). This step is crucial to numerous French dishes. Also, in most dishes, the Meat is removed at this stage and Reserved for a later stage while the Chef would Deglaze the pan to release all the flavourful Fond from the bottom of the Pan and from there-on, they would build their sauce. Also, this Deglazing is typically performed with either Wine or with some kind of Stock. I had a feeling that this peculiar French way of harnessing the Flavours from the Meat is something that Curries could benefit from.
Another thing that is used quite heavily in French cooking, which I believed that Curries could possible benefit from, is the use of Stock. After all, we do love that meatiness in a good Curry and use of something like a Stock - In theory - could help us achieve that with greater success.
So therefor, in my experiment, I wanted to use these three French cooking techniques - 1. Maillard reaction and Fond Development 2. Use of WIne for Deglazing and Flavour support and 3. The use of a Stock component to enhance the Meatiness of a dish, and see how it works with my Chicken Curry. However, as exciting and doable it sounded on the outset, I had to think this through logically, and figure out in detail, before I would put my ingredients, time and effort at risk. And here is my hypothesis.
Let us first tackle the first adopted technique first - Maillard reaction and Fond development. Frankly, I actually felt pretty confident about this one as I did not think that this would be detrimental to the flavour profile of the Curry in any way. After all the reaction is only enhancing the flavour of the Meat itself and it is pretty safe to say that it cannot be believed to be interfering with Spice flavours of the Curry in a way that should be a disaster. If anything, it should only enhance the Flavour. I saw no risk in browning the Chicken thoroughly and the use of the Fond that would be developed in this process. In fact, although this is not always referred to as Fond in Indian cuisine, but in many ways, it is already part of our dishes, including Curry. For example, when you brown the Onions and then add Tomato Puree and Spices to it and then cook it for the Oil to separate from the Masala, often we inadvertently develop a Fond at this stage. Also, often in the final stage of the Curry making, when you are reducing the liquid to a thick consistency, a lot of the Curry liquid forms Fond at the bottom that we keep scraping into the Curry but don't notice as it is obscured by the contents of Kadhai. So all that convinced me that there is no risk in going ahead with the adoption of this technique and I went ahead with it.
Next, I had to think through and be sure about the use of Wine for Deglazing in a Curry. There also I felt pretty safe as Wine goes well with Meat and some level of acidity is very much required in a good Curry. I was particularly using the Red Meat sections in this Recipe and everyone knows that Red Wine goes well with Red Meat - On the table and in the cooking. Though I was aware that the Wine would definitely have a complex Flavour profile of its own and there may be a risk of creating a conflict with the Flavour profile of the Curry (and thereby make it not taste like a Curry altogether), However, I was of the opinion that if we pick the right kind of Wine - like the one that has terms like "...a hint of spice.." on the label and is non-fruity - those complex Flavours could actually work in the favour of the Curry. Plus, the acidity that the Wine brings with it, is very much desired as well. That should open up the flavours in the Curry and actually enhance the complex flavours of the Spices. So I picked up a decent Red Wine that was quite far from the Fruity Kind in the Dryness Spectrum and went ahead with the implementation of this idea.
Now, regarding the third technique that I wanted to adopt - use of a Stock component in a Curry, there I was a little more concerned and therefor had to be careful. Although the idea on the outset made sense - as it would likely increase the Meatiness of the curry (which is very much desired) - I was aware of one key difference in the way (and why) Stock is used heavily in French cooking that forced me to be extra careful about using such a component in a Curry. And that difference is that in French cooking, typically, the Meat is browned Initially and then Reserved for later until the Sauce has been developed separately. At a later stage the Meat and the Sauce are brought together either for a brief period in the Pan or directly at the time of plating. By contrast, in a Curry, the Meat is typically Stewed in the Liquid and it never leaves the Pan (Kadhai to be more precise). This makes a lot of the Meat juices to transfer to the Curry liquid and in-effect do the same job as a Stock would do. By the way, that is why one should ALWAYS cook a curry with Bone-in meat. But that's a topic for another blog. Back to Stewing. In this Stewing process, the flavours are exchanged between the Meat and the Curry liquid and this is a really very important step for a good Curry. So typically, something like a Stock is not :essential" in a Curry. The question was, if I did decide to use a stock component, in which form should I do it and how can I be sure that it does not make the Curry not taste like a Curry altogether. Should I use liquid Stock? Or should I use the Cubed kind that come in packets? I have had horrible experiences with Cubed kind in the past and I quickly dropped it from the consideration. I did not want to use Liquid Stock because in my experience, store-bought liquid stocks have this artificial Umami taste to it that would not work with Indian Spice profile. So I dropped that idea too. Now, some of you may know that I am big fan of using Demi Glace in my recipes. I make it in batch and then freeze it to be used over a period of time for many dishes. So that is what I decided to use in this recipe. 1. Demi Glace was home made and just pure Meat Flavour and there was no risk of the Stock flavours interfering with the Curry 2. I could control the amount I would want in the curry in a very precise manner and could do it in small increments. Demi Glace is added towards the end of the cook and its effects are instant. It is almost like adding seasoning and the end and can be added in small increments to make sure that it does not overpower the Curry. I used just a very small 1 Inch cube of it and I added it in two increments. If you do not know how to make Demi Glace, please look up for Chef John Demi Glace video on internet. Trust me, this thing is a potent ingredient to have in your Fridge at all times. All that being said, do not fret about it if you do not have it. I do not want you to skip this Recipe just for this component. You can skip the Stock component all together. The Curry would still be pretty amazing.
The results of this experiment was a Curry like I have never had before. I really enjoyed it. This Curry had that balance of Meatiness and Spice Complexity that is unlikely to be had in a Curry cooked in a traditional way. I would deem this experiment highly successful and more importantly, I will be using this techniques to cook more variations of Curry in the future. In many ways, this cook was more of a Tenchinique experimetnt that I wanted to learn and become more qualified for many more such cooks in the future. The use of Red Wine not only gave the Curry the much needed acidic balance, it also provided a unique Flavour dimension and a beautiful, beautiful Deep Red colour. Do make this guys. And send your thoughts. Cheers!
Ingredients
Chicken - 300 gm (Curry cut, Large pieces)
Cloves - 4
Peppercorns - 10
Black Cardamom - 1
Green Cardamom - 2
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tbs
Fennel Seeds - 1 Tsp
Javitri Flower (Mace) - 1
Coriander Seeds - 1 Tbs
Long Pepper - 1
Dry Red Chillies - 3
Salt - 1 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 Tbs
Garam Masala - 1 Tsp
Sour Cream (or Yogurt) - 1 Tbs
Unsalted Butter - 1 Tbs
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbs
Red Onion - 1 Large (Chopped)
Canned Tomatoes - 1/3 Cup (Can be replaced with Fresh Tomato puree)
Green Chillies - 3-4 (Split lengthwise in halves)
Bay Leaf - 1
Desi Ghee - 3 Tbs
Demi Glace - 1 Inch Cube (or 1 Cups of stock)
Red Wine - 1 Cup
Method
Take the ingredients form no. 2 to 10 in the list above and lightly roast them in a pan. Grind these spices into a powder. Season Chicken with some Salt and Pepper and keep aside for 10 minutes. Heat Ghee in a Kadhai and let it come to a high temperature. Add Bay leaf and Dry Red Chillies. After about a minute, add Chicken and brown well on high heat. You are basically shallow- frying the Chicken here. Keep turning the Chicken pieces continuously Until Golden Brown. This should take some 10 minutes on high heat. At this point, the Chicken is about 40-50% cooked. You will see a beautiful Golden Brown Fond in the Kadhai. Remove the Chicken pieces from the Kadhai and reserve for later. Now, add your Onions and cook Until Golden Brown. The Fond would have become even darker and flavourful by now. Add Ginger-Garlic paste. Once that is cooked for 2 minutes, add in the Ground Whole Spices. Cook for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn your ground spices. They only need a minute or so. Add Tomato Puree and Green Chillies. Some of the Fond will be released by the Tomato Puree. That's good. Add in the Chicken that has been resting and turn it well in Kadhai to make sure that all Masala is thoroughly coated on every Chicken piece and roast the Chicken for 5-7 minutes in Masala. What will happen is that the Fond that was released by the Tomato Puree will start developing again at this stage. The whole mix of Chicken and Masala will be pretty dry at this point, Roasting nicely in the Ghee that must have separated from the Tomato Puree by now. Now add in the Chilli Powder, Salt , Garam Masala and Coriander Powder. Stir that in throughly and cook for 2-3 minutes. You have to manage the temperature in a way that you get nice, dark brown Fond but nothing should burn. Now, the main event - Add in the Red Wine. With the help of a spatula, this will instantly release all the Fond from the Kadhai. Make sure you scrape off all the bits and pieces from all parts of Kadhai and bring them into the liquid. Add the Demi Glace cube and melt it into the mixture. I added a 1 Inch cube in two increments but you can add all at once as I have already tested it for you and 1 Inch cube quantity is just fine. You are welcome. Now, add Sour Cream. Make sure that you liquify the Sour Cream with a Tsp of hot water, before you add it to the mixture. This will save you a lot of trouble as it is not easy to uniformly mix thick, cold Sour Cream into the Kadhai mix. IF you like - Depending on how thick or runny you like your curry - add 1/2 cup of water. Let the whole thing come to a boil and then let this stew for about 10-12 minutes on high heat. Keep stirring occasionally during this period. After 10-12 minutes the Curry is almost ready. You can reduce the liquid to your desired level of thickness but it should be at a pretty good consistency at this point. Turn off the heat and check for seasoning. Lastly, add in the Butter and fold it in. Coq Au Vin Curry is ready. Let it cool down for 15 minutes and then Enjoy!
Plating
Nothing special here. Use a somewhat deep serving bowl, pile the Chicken pieces in the middle and pour in the sauce around it. Use some of the Liquified Cream and Coriander leaf to Garnish and Dress. As always, be creative and have fun 🙂
Macros (Approx., for one serving)
Carbs - < 8 gm
Protein - about 18 gm
Fats - about 30-40 gm
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