chicken curry Archives - Page 2 of 2

Curry Chicken With Eggplant Simmered In Coconut Milk.

May 27, 2025October 12, 20138 Comments

Even as child my mom recalls how much I loved eggplant (baigan), stewed, curry and my all-time favorite , roasted over an open flame and made into baigan choka. Today that affection for eggplant aka aubergine, baigan, brinjal, brinjal eggplant and melongene is just as strong and I try to find different ways to put this lovely vegetable to use. In this recipe we’ll go through the steps of making a classic Caribbean style curry chicken, then we’ll add the cubed eggplant along with some potatoes into the pot with the coconut milk and let it simmer to perfection in the curry sauce.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs chicken thighs (skinless)
1 large eggplant
4 medium potatoes
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon veg oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Caribbean green seasoning
2 tablespoon curry powder
3 birds eye (bird pepper) pepper
1/2 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water

Notes. I like using a madras blend curry made in the Caribbean, but you can use your fav. Feel free to use 1/4 scotch bonnet pepper instead of the bird pepper.

Wash, drain and season the chicken with the salt, black pepper and Caribbean Green Seasoning, then allow it to marinate for about 2 hours.

Now heat the oil on a medium flame (in a deep sauce pan) and add the diced onion and garlic to the pot. Turn the heat down to low and let that cook for about 3 minutes so they soften up and start a lovely flavor base.

With your heat still on low, add the curry powder, stir well and let that toast for about 3-5 minutes. The curry will go darker, start to go grainy and take on a wonderful scent. Be sure the heat is on low to avoid the curry burning. In this step we’re cooking the curry so you don’t get that ‘raw’ curry taste when the dish is done cooking. We’re also awakening the spices which make up the curry powder.

15 minutes before you’re ready to cook, take the marinating chicken out of the fridge so it comes back to room temperature. Now add the seasoned chicken to the pot, turn up the heat so you can sear the chicken and get the pieces covered in the curry base we made. Turn the heat back down to med/low, place the lid on and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Add the birds eye peppers at this time as well.

The chicken will release it’s own natural juices, so turn the heat up and burn off that liquid. This will help to intensify the curry flavor of the chicken. It’s now time to add the cubed eggplant (you can peel it or leave it with the skin on), the cubed potatoes and top it with the coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil (raise the heat), then reduce to a simmer and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the potato pieces are tender. You can have the lid slightly ajar as it cooks and do remember to stir every 5-8 minutes.

Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. If the sauce (gravy) is thin all you have to do is press a few pieces of the potato with the back of your spoon to crush them and it will help thicken up things. This curry chicken with eggplant will not be the most attractive dish, but I assure the curry base with the addition of the coconut milk will ensure you have a very flavorsome dish.

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Ultimate Curry Chicken?

May 27, 2025January 8, 201047 Comments

A few months back I came across a wonderful video online of a fellow Trinbagonian living in the US who created a cooking video called “The Ultimate Curry Chicken” and though his method and ingredients of cooking curry chicken was a bit different than mine, I’m sure it was just as tasty. If you’ve watched my introduction video (click on “About” above) you’ll know that curry is not one of the things we grew up on and only years later when I moved to Canada and lived with my aunt, did I really start eating it. Don’t get me wrong, our mom is an excellent cook when it comes to anything curry, it’s just we didn’t have it as often. I’ve been lucky enough to have my mom close (about 1 hour away) the past few years, so over this time I’ve taken her recipe and made some slight changes to call it my own. BTW if you’re in the Toronto area and you’re looking to have some food catered (Trini dishes), be sure to contact me and I’ll not only get you some amazing food, but I’ll even hook you up with a nice discount. I’m not in the catering business, but my sister is and it seems she’s doing an amazing job with the rate her business is growing.

You’ll Need…

3 Lbs Chicken
3/4 tablespoon salt
dash black pepper
1/4 hot pepper (scotch bonnet, habanero or any hot pepper you like) *Optional.
heaping tablespoon curry powder (madras)
1/4 teaspoon roasted Geera (powder)
1 medium tomato diced
1 medium onion sliced
2 cloves garlic sliced
1 teaspoon green seasoning mix
2 + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons water (to cook curry)
1 scallion
Shado beni (see note below)

* I usually use dark meat (with bones) when cooking curry as I find that the overall taste of the finished dish is more tasty. However the recipe works just as well with white meat (may be a bit dry though)

* Since shado beni is not readily available to us in the city where I live (and I can’t grow it) I usually get some shipped to me and immediately after I get it, it goes into my freezer. Then whenever I’m cooking I break off a few leaves to add to my dish. So if you can get access to some at your local store, remember that freezing is also an option if you get a large package. I also find that the frozen leaves holds more flavour than if you were to puree the leaves as we do with green seasoning mix.

* If you don’t have the green seasoning the recipe calls for, feel free to use about a tablespoon of each of the following (chopped):
– cilantro
– thyme
– shallots
* Spanish thyme would also be a good addition if you can get access to it.

* In the recipe you notice that I cooked the frozen shado beni with the onions before adding the curry. If you’re using fresh shado beni you’ll get better results if you season the chicken with it, rather than cooking it as I did. If you don’t have any shado beni, you can also substitute cilantro for it (add about 2-3 tablespoon chopped to the seasoned chicken)

I got a package of chicken legs with back attached, so this means I had to cut it into serving size pieces before I could get started. After I cut the chicken into pieces it was placed in a bowl with some water and the juice of the lime (see ingredients above) to be washed. I then drained out the water and squeezed it as dry as I could.

The next step is to season the chicken and allow it to marinate for a couple hours. Add the salt, black pepper, tomato, green seasoning, and scallion (chopped) to the bowl with the chicken and stir so everything gets coated.

After it’s been marinating for a couple hrs, it’s time to start cooking. In a fairly large pan, heat the oil (2 tablespoon) on high heat and get prepared to add the sliced onions, garlic and hot pepper. Allow this to cook for a few minutes until the onions go soft and start to go a bit brown. I then turn the heat to medium and add a few leaves of the frozen shado beni to the pot followed by the curry and geera (cumin) and stir. You may notice that the pot is “dry”, this is when I add another tablespoon of oil to the pot so nothing sticks. The next step is to add the 6 tablespoons of water, turn the heat down and allow this to cook for a couple minutes. This will bring out the true aroma of the curry.

As the liquid burns off it’s time to start adding the pieces of seasoned chicken to the pot. Turn the heat back up to high and stir each piece so it get’s in contact with the cooked curry. After you’ve added all the seasoned chicken, turn the heat to medium-low and cover the pot.

You’ll notice that the chicken will spring it’s own juices, so after 15 minutes remove the lid and turn the heat up to high. We’ll now burn off that liquid. As the liquid burns off from the pot (make sure you keep stirring) you’ll see nothing but a bit of oil at the bottom with a sort of curry paste (this is the good stuff).

In the same bowl you seasoned the chicken add the 1 1/2 cups of water so we can pick up any remaining seasoning that was left behind. Now add the water from the bowl to the pot to continue the cooking process.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer with the pot covered (stir occasionally). After 20 minutes, remove the cover and check the sauce or gravy to see if it’s the consistency you like. Usually I have to turn the heat up a bit to reduce the curry sauce as I like it a bit thick.

I’m sure many of you may have a different way of making curry chicken or as our friends from Guyana say “chicken curry” , so I encourage you to share you method with us in the comments box below this post. Don’t forget to also join us on facebook below:

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Heavenly curry chicken with tender potato.

May 27, 2025June 19, 200946 Comments

This one is a hit on a Sunday morning whenever my mom visits (yup…a heavy brunch type dish on a Sunday). Our girls claim that only my mom can make this to their liking. Plus we get her to make roti for us, since I’m clueless when it comes to anything involving flour. The best combination for this is obviously paired with roti, but you can’t go wrong topping rice with this thick and savory dish… as I did in the pics below.

Note: I mentioned above that we usually enjoy this as a brunch dish, but you’re not limited as to when you can enjoy this. Most people I know treat this as course for dinner or big lunch.

Tip! If you live in a country that experiences winter and your house is locked up during those months and you’re concerned about that pungent scent that cooked curry seems to leave back (especially on your clothes), you have a few options…

– burn a scented candle during and after the cooking process

– ventilate (open a window or turn on the exhaust fan above your stove)

– place a stick of cinnamon in some water and simmer on the stove

– bake some cookies after 🙂

You’ll need…

3 lbs chicken cut into pieces (I like using legs with back attached – dark meat)

1 tablespoon curry powder (your choice)

1/2 teaspoon geera (ground cumin)

1/4 piece of habanero pepper (you control the heat by the amount of pepper you use)

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of black pepper

1 teaspoon green seasoning mix.

3-4 leaves of shado beni (chopped) or 3 chopped tablespoon of cilantro.

1 medium onion (chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed/chopped)

1 medium tomato (chopped)

2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice (or vinegar)

2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable)

2 medium potatoes (peeled / sliced into chunks)

2 cups water

Start by washing the chicken pieces with the lime or lemon juice and water (not the water mentioned in the recipe). Then start seasoning by adding all the ingredients mentioned above, except the oil, potato and water. Allow this to marinate for a couple hrs for best results. Feel free to cook immediately if you’re in a rush.

On high heat, in a saucepan (with a lid) add the oil and wait until you start seeing gentle smoke. Try fishing out the pieces of onion and garlic from the marinated chicken and add to the now hot oil.

Allow this to cook for about 2-3 minutes (you’ll notice that other recipes will ask that you cook the curry powder – I don’t), then start adding the seasoned pieces of chicken. Move everything around so it gets in contact with the heated oil. Cover and let simmer for a few minutes. After about 8 minutes you’ll notice that the chicken released some natural juices – lets turn up the heat and get rid of that.

As you wait for the liquid to cook down, peel and dice the potatoes. Place it into the same bowl that the chicken was sitting in. When the liquid that was released is gone, add the potato pieces and stir around. Pour the 2 cups of water into the same bowl and try to get any remaining seasoning that was left behind.

After you’ve added and moved the pieces of potato around the pot a bit, add the water and bring back to a boil. Cover the pot and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Allow this to cook for about 20 minutes or so. The goal is to have tender pieces of potato (melt and thicken the sauce) and a rich-thick sauce. If there’s still a lot of liquid left after the 20 minutes, using the back of your spoon, smash a few pieces of the potato. This will help thicken the gravy/sauce.

FYI. Just about everyone I know practices a different technique in cooking curry dishes, so feel free to use this a a base for your own unique version. Be sure to taste for salt in the event you need to add some. In the unlikely event there’s too much salt, add a sliced tomato and cook for a few minutes. It will absorb some of the extra salt.

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