Curry Chicken

Curry Chicken | Not Chicken Curry

Kareem of FibreOptics
Spicy, warm, comforting and approachable – curry chicken is my go-to dish when it comes to preparing chicken that isn’t purely pan-fried or roasted.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Jamaican
Servings 2 adults
Calories 280 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 Large fry pan
  • 1 Meat cleaver
  • 1 Large bowl
  • 1 Wooden Spoon

Ingredients
  

Protein

  • 2 lbs chicken legs or thighs (900 g)

Seasonings

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil (olive or coconut) (30 g)
  • 3 tbsp Jamaican Hot Curry Powder (contains turmeric, coriander, cumin, chili powder, cloves, allspice) (45 g)
  • 1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground) (4 g)
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt (4 g)

Vegetables

  • 1 onion (yellow or white) (diced) (150 g)
  • 1 plum tomato (diced) (60 g)
  • 1 potato (diced) (120 g) (optional)
  • 1/4 Scotch Bonnet pepper skin (habanero) (seeded and de-veined) (1 g) (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Cut the dark chicken meat into roughly 6 cm squared pieces cleanly with a cleaver and set aside.
  • In a large pot or saute pan, heat oil (2 tbsp) to medium and toast your spices (curry powder and black pepper) until golden brown and fragrant (1-2 min).
  • Immediately, sear the dark meat pieces in the spiced oil until golden brown (5 min).
  • Reduce the heat to a simmer and add vegetables.
  • Simmer for an additional 20 min until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
  • Serve generously over a bed of rice or use it as the filling of your favourite roti shell. Enjoy heartily!
Keyword 30 minute meal, chicken, curry

So much of my childhood was built on curry chicken. Note that it’s not chicken curry which is the case for most other cuisines. Jamaican curry chicken treats the curry component as a seasoning rather than a rich sauce that meat is added to. The simmered onions develop a rich gravy to lusciously spoon over white rice.