Chicken Curry Pasta Salad

I love summer, but summer and I only really get along when I have a nice cool place to retreat during those hot and humid dog days of summer. We spent one whole summer without any air conditioning at all...it was HOT. It was that summer that I discovered my love of cold pasta salads for supper. No need to turn on the oven and heat up an already sweltering house. After that summer, we moved into a place with central air and I slowly forgot how much I detest using an oven in the summer. Now we are living in an apartment that we use window air conditioning units and they don't quite get the kitchen as cool as I would like during theses hotter July days....and now I remember why I love cold pasta salads for supper. I'm always looking for new pasta salads to try.

The quest for this pasta salad begins back in the summer of 2008. It was the summer of my sister's wedding and I was throwing a bridal shower for her with one of her best friends, Joy. We had her shower at the Tea Room that Joy's mom, Cindy, owns. My sister, Hilary, specially requested a Chicken Curry Pasta Salad. Cindy is an amazing cook, and this salad is no exception. It revolutionized my pasta salad life and I began the quest of trying to recreate this at home. I had dreams about this salad. Dreams about its spicy warmness. Dreams about is creamy goodness. Dreams of it taunting me because I couldn't figure out that magical ingredient to recreate it. I tried again and again to make something similar and now I think I've gotten pretty close.

The secret ingredient that really pushed this over the edge was mango chutney. It provided the perfect blend of spices and warmth. I used the brand Patak's which I was able to find in the international section at Cub Foods. The dressing is a simple mayonnaise based dressing with some chutney and curry. I used a half and half mixture of light miracle whip and mayonnaise. I thought this combo lended the best of both worlds. If you wanted to lighten it up, you could use a lower fat mayo or do all miracle whip. The ingredients are pretty variable. If you like more chicken or grapes or nuts you can increase those amounts, so I left the recipe pretty variable.

This salad is delish and we will definitely be making this one again and again.

Chicken Curry Pasta Salad
Feel free to toy with the amounts of pasta, chicken, grapes & nuts
This makes one large batch that probably is 8-10 main dish servings

1 lb. pasta, cooked and cooled (recommended shapes bowtie or rotini)
6-8 chicken breasts, cooked, cooled and chopped (I roasted mine in the oven, but you could poach or grill as well)
2 stalks celery
8-10 oz whole cashews
6 cups red seedless grapes
1 c + 2 Tbsp. Light Miracle Whip
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. + 1 Tbsp. Patak's Sweet Mango Chutney
4 scant tsp. curry powder
Sprinkle of Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
Small squeeze of lemon juice, about 1 tsp

In large bowl, toss together the pasta, chicken, grapes, celery and nuts. Set aside. In a seperate bowl mix together the miracle whip, mayo, chutney, curry powder, cinnamon and salt. Squeeze enough lemon juice to reach desired consistency. (I left mine somewhat thicker, so I probably used only about 1-2 tsp) Serve as is or cover and chill.