Cooking with YachtSea Grille Chef Rov Avila: Don't be afraid of curry

I've been curious lately about curry.

It started when I was a culinary arts student at Manatee Technical Institute. What grabbed my attention was the intensity and complexity of all the different spices that were involved in making curries, and the challenge of identifying the many different flavors, ingredients and spices in a dish. Yellow curry shrimp, for instance, includes jalapeños, cinnamon, black and white pepper, ground cloves and cumin.

Another interesting thing to me was that curry was not as hot as I had always thought it would be -- a fact that would later change once I tried green curry for the first time. The curry was green, I was burning red.

Being from Honduras where the cuisine is not typically hot or too spicy, I have never been a big fan of foods that are too hot. So I started my own experiments with an array of spices and ingredients to make a good, well-seasoned curry dish that I felt comfortable calling my own. I wanted something that would pack lots of flavor and be pleasantly spicy, while still giving a nice kick of heat to try to stay as close to a traditional curry as possible.

After several rounds of trial and error -- as often happens in the kitchen -- I have a good recipe to share with you.

Enjoy your culinary adventures!

Curried Yogurt Marinated Chicken

1 cup plain yogurt

1.5 ounces fine chopped onion

1/2 ounce minced garlic

1/2 ounce minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 pounds chicken cut in large chunks (I prefer using thighs for flavor, but breast will work just as well)

Combine all the spices and cut vegetables into the yogurt and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, add the chicken pieces and let rest for at least 45 minutes in the refrigerator before cooking (I let it marinate for 24 hours before cooking).

Once the chicken is well rested and ready to cook you will need the following.

2 teaspoon butter

4 ounces chicken broth

2 ounces diced tomatoes

4 ounces coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Minced cilantro to taste and sliced green onions (scallions) also to taste

Melt the butter in a sautéing pan at medium heat, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the cilantro and green onions and bring to a simmer. Add the yogurt-marinated chicken and cook until fully cooked and the liquid has thickened a bit (approximately 10-15 minutes) then serve in a bowl with white rice. Top with the cilantro and green onions.

Rov Avila, a native of Honduras, is executive chef at YachtSea Grille .

and a culinary arts instructor at MTI Culinary Arts.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cooking with YachtSea Grille Chef Rov Avila: Don't be afraid of curry."