Finding a cuisine more broad and varied than Indian food would be a difficult task. On a geographic level, more than a dozen different types of regional Indian cuisine—each with its own key ingredients, flavors, and associated culture—exist across the subcontinent. At a smaller scale, a full Indian meal from any given region often consists of six or seven distinct components, each carefully chosen to create an overall balance of flavor and texture.

However, Indian cuisine is perhaps best represented by its remarkable array of spices and seasonings. For example, the dish described in this post (which, by the way, only contains about half of the components typically associated with a full Indian meal) contains over ten different spices and herbs. Used in varying degrees and in many forms, Indian spices combine like variables in the most delicious algorithm ever discovered to create—quite literally—infinite flavor possibilities. Fried or roasted, ground or whole, elaborate spice mixtures create the variety and balance for which Indian cuisine is known.

To create this spicy coconut chicken dish, begin by first preparing the basmati rice. Basmati is a long-grained rice and a staple in Indian cuisine. I used brown basmati, which has an aromatic, subtly nutty flavor that I could smell even before the rice began cooking. Ideally, basmati should be soft and fluffy yet never sticky or clumped, a balance that takes patience—and an hour of prep time!—to achieve.

First, measure out the dry rice into a large bowl, and rinse it with several cycles of cold water until the water is no longer cloudy with starch (for me, this only took two rinsings). Fill the bowl one last time, completely submerging the rice, and allow it to soak for thirty minutes.

Afterwards, drain the rice and allow it to sit in the strainer and dry out for another thirty minutes. Soaking the rice helps it to absorb water for even cooking, and drying it prevents grains from sticking together.

The hour-long prep time for the basmati is the perfect window for roasting and grinding spices and starting the chicken and coconut sauce.

After heating a small skillet (with no oil) for several minutes, add the coriander seeds and black peppercorns, stirring constantly for about three minutes.

Madhur Jaffrey recommends using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder to grind spices at home. Unfortunately, I own neither a mortar and pestle nor a coffee grinder. Fortunately, however, I do have a wooden rolling pin and understanding roommates who didn’t mind listening to me pounding a ziplock bag against our faux-wood kitchen table for several minutes straight.

Once the spices are ground, set them aside in a bowl and add the salt, cayenne, and turmeric.

Next, put the olive oil into a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and allow it to heat up.

Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and one of the cinnamon sticks to the skillet; as soon as the seeds begin to pop, add the chicken in a single layer, and reduce the heat to medium.

Remove the fully browned chicken from the skillet to a plate and put it to the side.

Next, add the onions and garlic to the skillet and allow them to brown for about five minutes.

In the meantime, finely chop the tomato and grate half a teaspoon of fresh ginger (peeled first) on top of it. The tomato and ginger then go into the skillet to cook down for about ten minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and then stir in the spice mixture, the lemon juice, and the coconut milk.

Lastly, add the chicken back to the skillet and bring the entire mixture to a boil. Before covering the pan, taste the sauce and decide whether or not to add more spices or coconut milk.

I didn’t tweak the amount of seasoning at all, since I loved the way the initially sweet and nutty flavor hit me with spice at the back of my throat. Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat down to low, and simmer for thirty minutes.

Conveniently, leaving the chicken to simmer coincided with my rice being ready to cook. I didn’t have a pot that was thick and tall enough for cooking the basmati, so I fitted my tall non-stick pot into my squat cast-iron pot.

Additionally, an extremely tight-fitting lid is required to hold in steam and properly cook basmati, so I molded a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil to the sides of the pot and placed the lid on top of that. The total contraption looked rather silly, but did its job in the end.

To cook the basmati, bring the water, rice, and butter to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat as much as possible, and leave the rice to steam for twenty-five minutes.

Finally, I was able to begin on the green beans. This portion of the dish is (thank goodness!) the quickest and easiest.

First, heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan while cutting the green beans into three-inch segments.

Next, add several thin slices of fresh ginger to the pot along with the mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds begin to pop, add the green beans, cumin, turmeric, and green chilies.

Stir the mixture and add the lemon juice and water.

Last, cover the pan, turn the heat down, and cook the beans for about ten minutes, until they are tender.

Luckily, all the components of my meal were done cooking within about five minutes of each other, for a total prep plus cooking time of about an hour and forty-five minutes. Phew! I served them all on the same plate, topped with a bit of freshly chopped green coriander.

Cooking such an involved dish as my first real experiment with Indian food felt like a bit of a risk, but the results were well worth the time (and were well enjoyed by each of my hungry roommates). But then again, who could resist perfectly soft and separated grains of basmati? Or rich, spicy coconut sauce balanced by bright and lemony green beans? Certainly not this college student!

Summarized Recipe (adapted from Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey)
Total Cooking Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
Serves: 8

Coconut Chicken

• 3 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds (brown or black)
• 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 1/2 lbs. chicken, skinned and cut into strips (white or dark meat is fine)
• 2 medium onion, cut into slivers
• 1 tsp. peeled, freshly grated ginger
• 2 medium tomatos, diced small
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 14 oz. can coconut milk

1. Heat a small, non-stick pan without oil for 2-3 minutes, then add the coriander seeds and peppercorns. Roast them, stirring constantly, for about a minute and a half.
2. Remove the spices from the pan, allow them to cool, and grind them finely. Set aside.
3. Put the oil in a large, non-stick pan and allow it to heat for several minutes.
4. Add the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick. As soon as the seeds begin to pop, add the chicken to the pan in a single layer and brown it on both sides, in as many batches as necessary.
5. Remove the browned chicken and set it aside on a plate.
6. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and brown them on medium heat for about five minutes.
7. Add the the ginger and tomatoes and cook down until the tomatoes are soft and cooked through.
8. Add the roasted spices, turmeric, cayenne, salt, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Stir to combine.
9. Return the chicken to the pan and allow the sauce to come to a boil.
   Finally, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and allow the sauce to simmer for 25 minutes.

Basmati Rice

• 2 cups brown basmati rice
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp. butter

1. Pour the basmati into a large bowl and rinse it several times with cold water until the water is no longer cloudy with starch.
2. Once again fill the bowl with water and leave the basmati to soak for 30 minutes.
3. Drain the basmati and leave it to dry in the strainer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the basmati, the 2 1/2 cups of water, and the butter to a large, thick-bottomed pot for which there is a tight-fitting lid.
5. Bring the water to a boil over medium high heat, and stir in the butter.
6. Cover the pot and reduce the heat as low as possible. Allow the basmati to steam for 25 minutes. (Do not lift the lid of the pot to check on the rice during this time.)
7. Gently fluff the cooked rice with a fork before serving.

Spiced Green Beans

• 1 1/4 lb. fresh green beans, cut into 3-inch pieces
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds (brown or black)
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 fresh green chili, finely chopped
• 4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste

1. Put the oil in a large non-stick pan and heat for several minutes.
2. Add the mustard seeds to the pan. As soon as they begin to pop, add the ginger, stirring constantly for several seconds to allow the ginger to brown.
3. Add the green beans, cumin, turmeric, green chilies, and salt to the pan and stir once or twice.
4. Add the lemon juice and water and bring the liquid to a simmer.
5. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and allow the beans to cook for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove the lid and simmer away extra liquid at a higher heat.