A classic chicken curry for Sunday supper

Meera Sodha's simple recipe is comfort food at its finest.

View in browser|nytimes.com September 15, 2024 Meera Sodha's chicken curry. Photograph by Grant Cornett. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis. See you on Sunday, chicken curry By Sam Sifton Good morning. Some weekends come along like holidays, and with them the chance to explore. Some arrive like a finish line, and call for rest and recovery. Others are simply steps in the algebraic equation of work and school and chores and hobbies and workouts — two days like every other day, only perhaps with a later start time or, if you're a fisherman, an earlier one. Whichever, I like to mark Sundays with a proper meal. A Sunday supper is a chance to gather family and friends for no other reason than the fact that they are family and friends. Cooking for them on a regular basis is my personal habit, a shared tradition in my set, a practice of sorts. (Some guy wrote a book about that.) People are lonely, even in families. Feed them and that will change. This week: the chicken curry (above) that the British cookbook writer Meera Sodha learned from her mother when she was a homesick college student, and the naan she picked up from her auntie a little while later. It's a simple, gorgeous curry — a thick, yogurt-fortified tomato sauce flecked with garlic and possessed of the deep flavors of cinnamon and cumin above a low flame of chiles, surrounding bite-size chunks of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and topped with slivered almonds — perfect for mopping up with the flatbreads, alongside chutney, raita and steamed basmati rice. It tastes, to me, of comfort. Featured Recipe Meera Sodha's Chicken Curry View Recipe → (If you don't eat meat, try her curry with cauliflower, cashews, peas and coconut instead.) With Sunday sorted, you can turn to the rest of the week. … Monday Genevieve Ko's recipe for fettuccine Alfredo takes the dish in unexpected directions, with spinach and chile crisp swirled into the mix. Butter, cream and grated Parmesan add umami, and the combination, with the heat of the crisp and the silk of the spinach, is amazing: American food at its best. Kate Sears for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff. Chile Crisp Fettuccine Alfredo With Spinach By Genevieve Ko 25 minutes Makes 6 servings Tuesday There's something playful about Kay Chun's recipe for chicken au poivre, which gives the humble chicken thigh the fancy-restaurant treatment. Kay doesn't flame the chicken in Cognac as is traditional with steak, but you can if you like. Serve with generously buttered noodles. Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. Chicken au Poivre By Kay Chun 45 minutes Makes 4 servings Wednesday You don't need a recipe to make my bulgogi-style tofu on a Wednesday night. Just follow my prompt, and make the dish your own. Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Bulgogi-Style Tofu By Sam Sifton Thursday Parmesan-crusted salmon Caesar salad? Jerrelle Guy's recipe is supercool, with a dressing made from mayonnaise and fish sauce that coats not only the greens but also the fish, which helps the cheese cling and crust. Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell. Parmesan-Crusted Salmon Caesar Salad By Jerrelle Guy 40 minutes Makes 4 servings Friday And then you can head into the weekend with Kristina Felix's recipe for sweet corn carbonara, an adaptation of a dish made by chef Michael Serva, of Bordo in Marfa, Texas. It uses diced salami in place of the traditional guanciale, and lots and lots of corn. David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Sweet Corn Carbonara Recipe from Michael Serva Adapted by Kristina Felix 40 minutes Makes 4 to 6 servings Alternatively, there are thousands and thousands of other recipes to cook this week waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. To answer a question I get quite a lot: Yes, you need a subscription to read them. Subscriptions are what make this enterprise possible. If you haven't taken one out already, would you please consider subscribing today? Thanks. While you're at it, make sure to sign up for Dinner Tonight, our newest newsletter. It's cool: We'll send one fast, easy to make and delicious recipe to your inbox every day, Monday through Thursday, to help answer that eternal and ever-present question — What's for dinner? If you find yourself in a jam with the technology, please reach out for help. We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com and standing by. Someone will get back to you. Or, if you'd like to lodge a complaint or say something nice, you can write to me. I'm at foodeditor@nytimes.com. I can't respond to every letter (there's a lot of mail!). But I read each one I get. Now, it's nothing to do with layer cake or roasted capon, but Anna Holmes has a lovely article in The New Yorker about children's picture books and the coast of Maine. Big "Blueberries for Sal" energy. Another great read: Manohla Dargis, in The New York Times, on "Demi Moore and the Subversive Politics of the Naked Body." Here's Victoria Chang's poem "Grass, 1967" in The Bitter Southerner. Finally, here's Stiff Little Fingers covering The Specials, "Doesn't Make It Alright." (And here's the original.) Play that loud. I'll see you next week. Sign up for the Five Weeknight Dishes newsletter Fresh dinner ideas for busy people who want something great to eat, with NYT Cooking recipes sent to you weekly. Get it in your inbox Sign up for The Veggie newsletter Tanya Sichynsky shares the most delicious vegetarian recipes for weeknight cooking, packed lunches and dinner parties. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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