Amy Poehler talked about her go-to chicken curry on her podcast, and I had to try it.
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I love Amy Poehler. I’m a big fan of just about everything she’s ever touched—from her Saturday Night Live years to her role in Parks and Recreation to her book Yes Please. And now her podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, has won the first-ever Golden Globe Award for Best Podcast.
That distinction comes as exactly zero surprise. On the show, Poehler manages to be genuinely, effortlessly funny and deeply kind and thoughtful, a combination that gives the show its particular warmth without dulling the humor. I listen to podcasts about everything from politics to parenting to, of course, cooking. But Good Hang is the one I genuinely look forward to every week. So when Amy had Ina Garten on the show, it felt like my worlds were colliding in the best way.
At the end of the episode, after Ina had gone, Amy shared the go-to recipe that she likes to cook: a one-pot chicken and rice curry dish. It wasn’t a formal recipe, but more of a framework for building the dish, and it made me want to head straight to the kitchen.
How I Approached Amy Poehler’s Chicken Curry
Poehler walked through her chicken curry with a mix of useful detail and self-aware commentary, joking that she doesn’t have a cooking show for a reason, and that she’s “not great at explaining it.” Still, the essentials were there. She browns chicken breasts, adds uncooked rice, chicken stock, coconut milk and “tons of curry.” Sometimes she throws in chickpeas. Then she slides the whole pot into a 375°F oven. “You take it out, you put it on the table,” she said. “People think you’re a genius.”
I followed the general method she described—browning the chicken first, letting the rice cook in the same pot, finishing everything in the oven—and filled in the rest the way I would normally cook at home. I used chicken breasts, per Amy’s suggestion, even though I’d typically reach for thighs in a dish like this, and added a few vegetables I had in the fridge to round things out.
The result was exactly as promised: a fragrant, comforting pot of chicken and rice that feels generous and impressive without being fussy. Exactly the kind of dish you carry straight to the table, serve from the pot, and quietly enjoy while everyone assumes you worked harder than you did.
Amy Poehler-Inspired Chicken Curry and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bone-in chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 2-1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 can (14 ounces) full-fat coconut milk
- 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Step 1: Brown the chicken
Preheat the oven to 375°.
In a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken on both sides, about three to four minutes per side. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked. Remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside.
Step 2: Cook the aromatics
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onions to the same pan, and cook them until they’re softened, about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cauliflower; cook them one to two minutes longer or until they’re fragrant.
Step 3: Add the rice
Stir in the rice. Cook it, stirring, for one to two minutes or until it’s lightly toasted.
Step 4: Bring the stock to a boil
Add chicken stock and coconut milk, and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Stir in the chickpeas, curry powder, turmeric and ginger. Season the sauce with additional salt and pepper, as desired.
Step 5: Finish it in the oven
Return the chicken to the pan. Cover the pan and bake the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes or until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through.
Step 6: Let it rest before serving
Remove the dish from oven, and let it stand for five minutes. Sprinkle it with cilantro before serving it.
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