Southwestern Chicken Curryish

It was another chicken night and I had some tomatoes to use up.  The curry powder I have has a bitter after taste which I think comes from garam masala not being 'cooked' before grinding and incorporation, a good reason to mix my own. I don't like bitter so decided to use some curry components instead. I put some rice on to cook and seasoned the chicken breast with salt and:

Southwest Spice Rub

2 tbsp  chili powder
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp  brown sugar
2 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp cayenne (optional, but it really helps)

I put the chicken breasts on the BBQ to get grill marks then moved them over off the heat to finish roasting. 25-30 minutes total cooking time. Can also be finished in 350ºF oven. 

The tomato curryish was simply a diced onion caramelized, then a half stick of diced celery is added to sweat.   Three  tomatoes diced are added to the onion and celery. I kept the heat medium-high as long as possible  because I wanted to cook down the tomato in the few minutes I had. To the tomatoes I added 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon coriander and 1/2 teaspoon cumin. I added the frozen peas about 5 minutes before serving. I plated the chicken on white rice and the tomato sauce over top.

The cumin and coriander gave the dish a curry like smell and taste but without the bitterness. That's the curryish because I wouldn't call a true curry. It's important to note here that cumin and coriander are components of both my Southwestern Spice Rub and pretty much any curry. None of the other ingredients clash so it is safe to mix these two very different spice combinations. 

Fern said he wasn't expecting to like this dish, Southwestern Curry didn't sound particularly good. It was though.  Fern tasted it and immediately said it was delicious! Success!! A new way to prepare the same old thing and it's easy!