I am not exaggerating at all when I say I think this is one of the best things I’ve ever made. That sounds super braggy but I promise I’m not trying to be! It’s really just that good, but I feel like I did very little to make that happen. This dish is full of simple, whole ingredients that are completely delicious & satisfying. It really takes minimal skills, but taste so impressive.
I’ve been craving chicken pot pie lately but also curry. All I want in January is something warm & comforting. I figured why not combine them & the end result was complete perfection. It was warm, a little spicy & made my frozen January soul wake up a little bit!
I also want to say if you think you won’t like curry, oh please just for me.. try it! It’s such a warm & unique flavor.
I promise it’s really, really simple! First, I got my chicken roasting. I used two skin on, bone in chicken thighs. My foolproof roasted chicken thighs starts with seasoning both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, & garlic powder then drizzle with olive oil to roast at 425 for 12 minutes, then broil for 2. I also added cayenne to the chicken because I wanted a kick in the curry. Obviously if you’re not into spice you could totally skip that!
While my chicken was cooking I started on my veggies. I sauteed onions, carrots & celery with some olive oil until they were tender & getting a bit brown. I added my sliced garlic & cooked for another minute or so. Then I added my spices ( salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne & curry powder. )
Oh my goodness, this smelt so good!
I drizzled in a bit more olive oil & then added 1 tablespoon of flour. I mixed well & let cook. It’s really important to let that cook for a minute to cook out the raw flour taste!
After it cooked for a minuted, I added my liquid ( coconut milk ). This is the basic recipe for any sauce you want to thicken ( fat, flour, liquid! )
I turned my heat to medium low & let the coconut milk & flour do their thing to start thickening up. It turned this beautiful yellow color from the curry powder. It’s a sight to see, my friends.
After the sauce was beginning to thicken I added all my little extras ( frozen peas, chickpeas, yellow raisins & cilantro. ) By this point my chicken was done cooking, so I cut it up & added it as well.
I could really just stop here. Serve this over rice & I’m game. But, like I said, I was craving that delicious taste of a pot pie.
I divided my filling into two small cast iron pans, but you could also put it in just one pie dish.
Now in a perfect world, my pie crust would have rolled out of the package seamlessly. It’s not a perfect world though. I don’t know why, but I opened that box & the crust fell apart into multiple strips.
But honestly this could’ve been the best discovery of all. I just placed each strip across the top & then hit it with an egg wash. I baked it at 400 for about 35 minutes & holy cow it was so incredible.
By doing all those strips, it gave the dish more of those crispy edges that I adore.
I really wish I could be eating this again right now. It hit all of my bullet points.. warm, fresh, savory, filling but not too filling.
I served it with extra cilantro & a lime wedge.. amazing! I hope you get the chance to enjoy this soon. It is so perfect for these cold, cold days!
Bon Appetit!
ellyn
SERVINGS: 4
INGREDIENTS:
Always: olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder
- 3-4 chicken thighs ( bone in, skin on )
- 1 medium onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 can coconut milk – full fat
- 1/2 cup frozen peas ( after making this recipe again, I omitted the peas. They didn’t add too much to the flavor & I HATE the color peas turn after they cook! )
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1/2 cup yellow raisins
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne ( more or less to taste! )
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 prepared pie crust ( I have found the best crust is from Trader Joe’s. It’s so flaky! )
- 1 egg
- Lime & cilantro for serving
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 425. Coat chicken thighs with salt, pepper, garlic powder & cayenne to taste on both sides. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 12 minutes, broil for 2. Let rest.
- In a skillet, add about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped veggies ( onion, carrot & celery. )
- Cook veggies until tender & beginning to brown. Lower heat to medium low & add chopped garlic. Cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add seasonings – curry, onion, garlic powder & salt, pepper & cayenne to taste.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil & flour. Whisk together for 30 seconds & then let cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly add can of coconut milk, whisking together.
- Bring heat back to medium & let the sauce simmer to thicken.
- Shred chicken.
- Once sauce is thick & you’ve checked the seasoning add chicken, frozen peas, chick peas, raisins & cilantro.
- Grease desired baking dish. Add filling.
- Cover with pie crust & do an egg wash over pie crust ( beat an egg & brush it over the crust – this will make it golden & delicious )
- OPTIONAL: sprinkle the top with salt.
- Cook @ 375 for 30 minutes – or follow the instructions on your pie crust box. Your filling is already cooked, you just need to cook the pie crust.
- I also made this ahead of time, saved it in the fridge & then reheated covered @ 350 for 30 minutes. It was perfect!
- Enjoy!
