TASTES OF HOME By Ilysse Rimalovski
- Ilysse Rimalovski
- Aug 15
- 5 min read
Mangala’s Chicken Curry
Tastes of Home is a Food Matters series celebrating the rich culinary traditions of our local residents.
The aromas flowing from Mangala Rajan’s kitchen stir hunger, memory and tradition all at once. Coriander and cumin are blooming in hot oil, signaling the rich, layered experience of the meal to come.
“With chicken curry, you can be as simple or as sophisticated as you want,” says Rajan, adding chopped vegetables and fresh pastes of garlic and ginger to the pot. She has already warmed whole and ground spices from her masala dabba, a highly organized Indian spice box. She will serve her curry with traditional basmati rice and a side of spicy chopped green beans with coconut, reminiscent of the flavors her mother cooked for her.
Mangala Rajan and her husband, Lester Jacinto, met while pursuing graduate degrees at Temple University, both on student visas from India. She hailed from the southern region of Chennai and was raised as a vegetarian. He was from Mumbai in the West, where meat was the mainstay of his diet.
Although their worlds seemed far apart in terms of cuisine, religion and language, they discovered they shared deep values regarding education and family. Soon they would create a plan for the future and a home of their own. Rajan and Jacinto blended aspects of their traditional cultures into their American lives, landing them in their beloved South Orange neighborhood 28 years ago.
“We’ve taken our kids to India a lot to give them a sense at their core of their Indian origin,” says Jacinto. “But we told them that beyond that, they have to find their way.” Their son, Mihir, 24, and daughter, Gunjan, 20, are lured to the kitchen by the magical aromas of their mother’s cooking. As adults, it has become a game to guess which spices they can discern. “I was praying that my kids would be interested in cooking Indian food,” says Rajan, recalling their early preference for pasta and pizza. “Now they love it and help me cook, which is very gratifying.”
School lunches often consisted of leftovers such as stewed chickpeas (chana), lentils (dal), or chicken curry and rice. The kids’ friends were often curious to see what Mom packed.
Today, Mihir is grateful for his sense of culinary adventure, and Gunjan finds that cooking is much easier than going out, even if that means cooking pasta in her dorm room. Rajan’s cooking prowess is celebrated throughout her family and social circles and extends well beyond Indian cuisine.
Continuing the legacy of her mother and mother-in-law, she is the resident expert and keeper of recipes, which she “eyeballs” instead of measuring. When pressed for time, she uses Indian spice mixes from the local company DHOL (see sidebar) for making curries and other traditional dishes.
She works full time in New York as a medical researcher at Weill Cornell but finds it personally and culturally important to prepare a home-cooked meal. “Cooking forces me to shut off work,” she says. “It is a nice transition that literally makes me feel good.”
Mangala’s Chicken Curry
Ingredients
1½ pounds chicken thighs, fat trimmed and sliced into chunks
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, finely chopped 1 large potato, diced into cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 spicy green chili, such as serrano (optional) 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated (or 1/2 tablespoon garlic paste)
½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated (or ½ tablespoon ginger paste)
2 tablespoons plain low-fat Greek yogurt, whisked to a smooth consistency
Oil/ghee to coat the pan
1 teaspoon salt
Whole Spices:
2 cardamom pods
3 cloves
1-inch piece cinnamon stick
Ground Spices:
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1½ teaspoons cumin powder
1½ teaspoons turmeric powder
1½ teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (see note)*
½ teaspoon garam masala*
Fresh Herbs:
Small bunch coriander leaves, chopped 4 or 5 mint leaves (optional)
Instructions
1. Marinate raw chicken chunks with yogurt and salt for at least 30 minutes, up to one day in advance, and refrigerate.
2. Pour 1½ teaspoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large pot. Add whole spices and fry for a minute or two until fragrant. Add chopped onions and cook slowly on medium heat until browned and caramelized.
3. Lower heat to simmer and add ground spices, except garam masala. Add fresh tomatoes, salt and green chili (if using) and mix well, ensuring spices do not burn.
4. Raise the heat, add tomato paste and let ingredients cook until oil visibly rises to the surface.
5. Add chicken pieces and mix thoroughly.
6. Simmer curry for 20 minutes, adding up to a cup of water (depending on your preference for thinner or thicker gravy) until the chicken is almost cooked through.
7. Add potatoes and simmer until fork tender (10 – 15 minutes more), mixing the curry to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. 8. Lastly, add garam masala and a teaspoon of ghee (if using) and mix well. 9. Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve alongside basmati rice and/or Indian bread such as roti or naan
Notes
• For Indian ingredients, Mangala suggests India Bazaar in East Hanover or a visit to Iselin, which offers many authentic stores and restaurants. She also highlights the Indian fare at The Order in South Orange.
• Ghee is clarified butter that is shelf-stable with a rich flavor.
• Kashmiri chili powder is a mild aromatic powder available in Indian markets. A mix of cayenne pepper and sweet paprika is an alternative. Adjust heat level according to preference.
• Garam masala is a ground spice blend that typically includes coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and pepper.
• Chicken breasts may be substituted for thighs, however they tend to result in a less flavorful curry.
• DHOL Chicken Curry Spice Mix may be substituted for the whole and ground spices
Ilysse Rimalovski is a well-seasoned home chef, writer and recipe developer living in Maplewood. Have food questions or need inspiration? Visit Ilysse’s Facebook page, Ilysse Ideally, or send email to forilysse@ icloud.com