Curried Chicken and Veg Soup

I updated this recipe [April 2017] to add more veg and to streamline the process. It has a nice curry spice that you can turn up or down to your taste. The raisins add a nice little pop of sweet to break up the spicy curry. You can find garlic and ginger pastes and curry paste at the Indian or Asian market. I strongly recommend seeking them out! The prepared garlic paste is great for soups and sauces where you want the flavor, but not the pieces of garlic.

4 Boneless skinless chicken thighs seasoned with S/P (or 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 head cauliflower cut up bite sized (or one bag frozen is fine)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery diced
1/2 small box of mushrooms, diced
3 scallions sliced on the bias (white and green, reserve some for garnish)
1 can garbanzos (chick peas) drained
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dry ginger
2 Tbl garlic paste (or 5 cloves garlic minced to paste)
2 Tbl all purpose Curry paste (red Madras style; use less if you’re heat sensitive)
1 Tbl ginger paste
2 Tbl flour
2 Tbl mirin
1 small can coconut milk (or a full 14oz can if you want this creamier and less spicy)
3 cups chicken stock
Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 Tbl fresh basil, chiffonade, for garnish and toss the rest into the soup at the end

Dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper, then brown on both sides (med hi) in olive oil in the soup pot until you get a good golden sear. The chicken will not be fully cooked. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Once cooled, dice the chicken and set aside.

Mix together all the dry spices (not the flour) in a small bowl and the pastes in another.

Put the veg (except scallions) into the pot with the chicken drippings/fond over med heat and season with about 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (add a little more olive oil if needed). Cook the veg for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make a space in the middle of the pot and add about 2/3 of the powdered spices. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add in the pastes and stir with spices, cook for another couple of minutes. Stir all these spices into the veg thoroughly and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in flour, stir thoroughly and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add in remaining spice mix, raisins, garbanzos, reserved chicken, coconut milk, mirin and stock. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid ajar. Turn off heat, add in scallions and check seasoning. This soup tends to thicken after it cools, so you might need extra stock to loosen it up. This soup freezes well.

Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt, scallions and fresh basil. This would pair with a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer wine.