Coconut Chicken Curry with Caramelized Onions

En français ici.
My parents (two wonderful individuals who know their daughter very well) gave me a cookbook called 1,000 Indian Recipes for Christmas this year. I've been testing recipes from it (although with 1,000, I've hardly made a dent in the possibilities) and I'd like to share my personal adaptation of one of the recipes found in the book. The original recipe is made with yogurt; however, since there was a sale on coconut milk at the super market, I had lots to spare and the result was absolutely delicious.

Coconut Chicken Curry with Caramelized Onions
4 people

Ingredients:

-3 Tbsp olive oil
-5 cardamom pods, crushed slightly to break the skin (you can do this with the flat of a knife, a rolling pin, or...um, your teeth...just don't tell I said so)
-1 stick cinnamon
-2 large onions, coarsely chopped*
-1 tsp sugar
-4 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (this is how I like it - you can also use whole chicken breasts or skinless chicken thighs, like the original recipe)
-2 Tbsp peeled, minced ginger (or a peeled, 1 inch piece of ginger to flavor the dish without having bits of it)
-1 large clove garlic, minced
-1-3 fresh green chili peppers, minced with seeds
-1 Tbsp ground coriander
-1/4 tsp ground cloves (or 2-3 whole)
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp salt, or to taste
-1 1/2 cups coconut milk
Garnish:
-1/4 tsp garam masala
-finely chopped scallions (green parts)
OR
(I didn't have scallions last time I made this dish, so I used - )
*-the first layer of one of the onions, chopped and browned until crisp in 1 Tbsp ghee (or butter and oil combo)
-garam masala

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and cook 1 min before adding onions. Cook onions about 5 min. then reduce heat to medium-low, add sugar, stir and cook for about 10 min until browned.

2. Add chicken, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, coriander, cloves, pepper and salt. Stir over high heat until chicken starts to firm (4-5 min).

3. Add the coconut milk while stirring. Bring to a boil and the reduce stove to medium heat, cover and cook until the chicken is tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 min. The sauce should thicken. If it doesn't by the time the chicken is done, uncover and cook a few minutes on high heat.

4. Serve hot over spiced rice or with accompaniment and garnish of your choice.

The trick in this recipe is really taking the time to caramelize the onions. It's worth it! Enjoy!