Apple Curry Chicken

I don't know if you have noticed lately my pure fascination with Indian food. While I think most of it may come from my addiction to the smell of a curry leaf cooking, I would have to say I love it because it is PACKED with flavor. And really if you had asked me about Indian food three or four years ago, I would have said, bleck, tastes like talcolm powder. As that was my first experience with Indian food back in 1984. But times they are a changin' cause I love it now. Thanks to the encouragement of some of my friends and my husbands dear, sweet, coworker- "V". Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And you know what the culprit for the attack on my tastebuds is... fenugreek or methi. I am trying to acquire a taste for it but that is what turns me off about a lot of Indian food and the tradition curry powder that you find here in the States. Curry of course, is more of a sauce to an Indian than it is a spice. When I make a curry, I have a lot of spices in there- just not methi.

There was one dish that I use to make when I was younger that had curry in it, I would just put way less than it calls for. I loved it. Now I had to try it again after years of not making it and having the new taste for Indian. Its called Apple Chicken Curry. I still like it but it really is an Amercanized Indian dish. Still good though. It's from a book called The Treasury of Creative Cooking. A book I purchased a long time ago that really is full of a lot of good recipes.

Stay tuned here on my blog because I have a giveaway coming up...

Apple-Curry Chicken
This is a casserole so you can prepare it a head of time and then pop it in the oven 45 minutes before you eat.

2 whole chicken breasts, chopped
1 cup apple juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plain croutons
1 medium sized apple, chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease shallow baking dish. Arrange chicken in a single layer. Measure out a half cup of apple juice and add salt and pepper to that. Pour over chicken. Combine croutons, apple, onion, raisins, sugar, curry powder, and garlic powder. Stir in remaining apple juice and spread mixture over chicken Cover and bake for about 45 minutes.