Greedy Girl : Jamaican Curry Chicken

Fowl

Finally, after all this time, I’m adding a Jamaican curry chicken recipe to the blog. It is intensely rich and flavorful. If you don’t have the time to wait on goat to cook or if you don’t like goat, you can certainly make curry chicken in a shorter time. One of our favorite go-to weekday dinners.

Does anyone else notice that when you make a curry, the leftovers are always better than the day it’s made? A well-made pot of curry goat and curry chicken will taste better on the second day and even better on the third. I have no idea what it would taste like on day four because we have never had it leftover that long. By day three you’re lucky if there is one serving left.

Another thing you must ensure is that you are using the best curry. And the best curry for a Jamaican curry is Betapac curry powder made in Jamaica. Betapac curry is the absolute best in Jamaican curry flavor. We make sure to keep the house in NY and here in Jamaica stocked at all times. We have a curry jar and about two to three bags of the largest bags of betapac curry powder in the pantry. Why do we do all this? Because sometimes the supermarkets will go weeks without restocking, don’t know why. So when we see it we buy it. If you are not in the good ole island of Jamaica, you have several options for obtaining betapac curry powder.

Take a vacation to the island and make sure to take some back on your way
Check your West Indian grocery store and see if you get lucky, if not beg them to import it for you
Befriend a Jamaican who will take some up for you
And if all else fails, order some from amazon.com (yes it’s on amazon)

But seriously the best substitution I have found in is the curry powder sold by weight in whole foods, still not as good as betapac but it’s better than nothing.

This chicken requires, and I mean requires the perfect pot of fluffy white rice or some roti. It’s not hard to make at all. Generally speaking, curry chicken is a set it and forget it kinda recipe. Some persons dump chicken and water in the pot cover it may be a few stirs but they basically leave it until it’s done. I prefer a combination of browning and steaming to get a better flavor. So I lightly brown my chicken then add water and cover and allow it to simmer until cooked. I would suggest you make this for dinner

Ingredients (printable recipe)

10 pc drumsticks

½ teaspoon Black pepper

1 tablespoon ground Allspice

1 tablespoon Onion powder

1 tablespoon Garlic powder

2 tablespoon Oil

1 tablespoon Paprika

2 teaspoon salt

½ green pepper

½ red pepper

1 onion

½ scotch bonnet pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 sprigs thyme

3 tablespoon oil

2 tablespoon curry powder

¼ cup coconut milk powder

2 ½ cups water

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon ground allspice

Greedy Tips:

I don’t season the meat with the curry powder, we have been told that as the meat marinates the curry powder ferments and causes stomach pains when cooked…don’t know how true it is but I’m not one to go against what my mom says, so I don’t season with the curry. I cook the curry in the oil then add the seasoned meat.
I like to heat up a dry dutch/cast iron pot completely before adding the oil.
You will find almost all Jamaican curry recipes adding white potatoes to the mix. While that's traditional I find it a complete waste of potatoes as they act as a sponge and absorb the flavors that the chicken should be absorbing. Use the potatoes to make some roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes and use as a side dish instead.

Instructions

Chop the drumsticks and season with black pepper, allspice, onion powder, garlic powder, oil, paprika, sand salt
Mix and allow it to marinate for at least 8 hours
Place a dutch pot/cast iron pot on high heat
Slice the onion, peppers, scotch bonnet and shred the garlic
Add the oil and curry powder to the hot pot and cook for about a minute
Add all the chicken to the pot and stir to coat with the curry oil
For the next 15 minutes allow the chicken to lightly brown by stirring every 3 minutes
Once the chicken is lightly browned add the water and the coconut milk powder, stir and bring to a boil
Reduce the heat to medium/low and Add the onions, peppers, scotch bonnet, thyme and garlic cover and allow it to cook for 45 to 50 minutes
Make sure to check on the pot every 15 minutes to stir and make sure the bottom of the pot is not sticking
Serve with white rice or roti

Do not season meat with the curry powder

betapac in our curry jar

lightly browned, time to add the water and coconut milk powder

UPDATE!! January 2020

Over the last two years, I have tweaked the way I cook curry chicken and found this way to yield a much cleaner and better-tasting curry. So for an even more delicious curry chicken follow these steps. It mostly remains the same with the exception of when the curry powder is added.

Instructions

No coconut milk in this updated recipe, but you can use it if you like. I also add 1 cup chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon shredded ginger

Chop the chicken and season with black pepper, allspice, onion powder, garlic powder, oil, paprika, and salt
Mix and allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
Place a dutch pot/dutch oven on high heat
Slice the onion, peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet and shred the garlic and ginger
Add oil to the hot pot and brown all the chicken, removing after each pc is golden
repeat until all the chicken s browned
Add the curry powder to the pot (with all the chicken residue) and cook for about a minute
turn the heat on low, add back all the browned chicken and all the onions, peppers, scotch bonnet, thyme, tomatoes ginger and garlic cover and allow it to sweat for 10 to 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. The veggies will release the aroma and soften, the chicken will release juices and gravy will begin to form in the pot
Increase temp to medium/high add the water, bring to a boil and allow the chicken to cook for another 30 to 35 minutes covered.
Make sure to check on the pot every 15 minutes to stir and make sure the bottom of the pot is not sticking
chicken should be fully cooked and gravy should be rich
Serve with white rice or roti