Guyanese chicken curry Archives

A little over 7 years ago I shared my Amazing 20 Minute Curry Chicken Recipe on YouTube and while that recipe is still very relevant. As we work our way through the #ComfortFood series I’ve been sharing on social media, I thought I’d revamp that recipe a bit. Unfortunately while filming the recipe video for this version, I never took step by step images as I would normally do.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs boneless chicken (dark meat)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (diced)
6-8 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large scotch bonnet pepper (sliced)
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin (geera)
1 1/2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
2 tablespoon Curry powder
1 teaspoon Anchar Masala
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust)
2 cups water
2 tablespoon chopped Shado Beni (chadon beni / culantro)

you may use cilantro

Notes. Please use the video below to follow along as much more is discussed there. Especially why I used boneless leg and thigh, but also why you may use chicken breast should you prefer that cut.

Cut the chicken into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces and wash with cool water and the juice of a lemon, lime or 1 cup white vinegar. Drain dry. If washing chicken is not your thing, you may skip this step as I know many people are opposed to this.. in my culture it’s a MUST!

Heat the oil in a heavy pan on medium heat. Unlike other curry recipes I’ve shared where we lower the heat at this stage, the goal is to maintain a constant heat. Add the onion, garlic, tomato, Caribbean Green Seasoning, Scotch Bonnet Pepper (use as much as you can handle) black pepper and roasted geera (cumin). Cook for 2 minutes, then add the curry powder, along with the Anchar Masala and stir well. Cook for a further 3 minutes.

It’s then time to add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat with the lovely curry base we created. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the salt and water (bring to a boil) and cook for a further 10 minutes.

At this point we’ll personalize things by adjusting the salt to your liking and determine if the gravy’s consistency is to your liking. Keep in mind that the residual heat in the pan will further thicken the gravy or sauce as it cools.

Once you’re happy with everything, turn off the heat and add the chopped Shado Beni (culantro) and stir. Should you prefer to use cilantro (coriander), it’s really up to you.

If you want to change up the flavors a bit you may add a bit of coconut milk or cream, a small stick of cinnamon, a bay leaf and/or a teaspoon of grated ginger will not hurt things at all! This recipe is true to a traditional Trinbago (Trinidad and Tobago) curry chicken.

Meat & Poultry

Incredible Curry Chicken Breast.

May 27, 2025January 3, 20224 Comments

Dry, Bland and “Like Rubber“! A few words the average Caribbean person will use to describe curry (curried) chicken breast (white meat). And while there’s some truth to this, I’m here today to change that forever.. with a few simple steps.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs chicken breast (no skin nor bones)
1 teaspoon salt (adjust)
2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/2 medium onion (diced)
6 cloves garlic (smashed)
2-3 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin (geera)
1 teaspoon Anchar Masala
3 cups water
2 medium tomatoes (diced)
2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use, as some may have flour as a filler. I find using a heavy pan (like cast iron) gives you better results. I also like cooking this dish outdoors (the strong scent indoors can last a long time).

Heat the oil on a medium flame. Then add the onion and garlic, turn the heat down to low and cook for 3 minutes. Then add the Caribbean green seasoning and stir well. Typically you’d season the chicken with the Caribbean Green seasoning, but we’re doing things differently. After 3 minutes after adding the Green Seasoning, add the curry powder and stir well.

The curry will go darker as we cook it (heat still on low). After 4 minutes add the diced tomato, this will help give you a thick gravy at the end, PLUS the acidity will help balance the overall flavor of the curry. Stir well, then add the water.

Turn the heat to medium to bring it to a boil. As you start seeing little bullbles, add the black pepper, salt, anchar masala and geera.

Turn the heat down to med/low and simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Toss in the peppers (whole). Feel free to make it spicy by using a more SPICY pepper.

The liquid will reduce by about a third, add the pieces of chicken breast (2 inch pieces) and stir well to coat with the curry sauce.

Cook for 7-10 minutes as we don’t want to make the chicken dry. Turn off the heat, toss in the cilantro to finish things off. Or if you have fresh Shado Beni (culantro), use that instead of the cilantro.

Remember to taste for salt and adjust to your liking. Note! If you break the peppers it will make the dish spicy.

Now you know! Dry and bland curry chicken breast are a thing of the past. The trick is to create a delicious curry gravy and to add the chicken breast near the end, so you never over-cook it. Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Incredible Caribbean Curry Chicken With Potato.

May 27, 2025November 14, 20215 Comments

No you’re not seeing double! If you’ve been following my culinary exploits here from day one, you would have seen me share a similar Curry Chicken With Potato (aloo) recipe about 8 years ago. And while that recipe is timeless, the google indexing bots are no longer as kind to the website, so if you were do do a search online you’ll never find that classic (original) recipe.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs chicken
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning (divided)
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (sliced)
5-8 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper
5 1/2 cups water (divided)
2 heaping tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon roasted geera (cumin)
1 teaspoon anchar masala
5 medium potatoes (cut into 1/4’s)
3 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Important! if doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder – read the label if you don’t make your own. I used an extra Habanero pepper (floated) in this dish as I enjoy my curry very spicy.

Watch the video below to see how I broke down a whole chicken for this recipe. Feel free to use thighs or drums if that is what you have on hand or prefer using. Additionally, you may use chicken breast, but IMHO you get better results with bone in/ dark meat.

Season the chicken with the salt, black pepper and 2 tablespoon of the Caribbean Green Seasoning. Stir well and allow to marinate for a couple hours in the fridge.

Heat your deep pot on a medium flame and add the oil. Followed by the onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper. Turn the heat down to low and gently cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the remaining Caribbean Green Seasoning and stir. 30 seconds later add the curry powder and mix well.. heat still on low please. This step will toast the curry powder and bloom the spices which makes up the curry powder.

4 Minutes later, crank the heat to high and add 1/2 cup water, stir and then add the Geera and anchar masala (you can get this on amazon or your local Caribbean market – or double up on the roasted geera aka cumin). The goal here is to do two things. 1 Cook out the rawness of the curry and 2. to burn off the water we added to intensify the flavor of the curry base.

It will go dark, thick and perfume the kitchen with all the curry niceness. As soon as all the liquid is gone and you can see the oil we started with, add the seasoned chicken and stir well to coat each piece.

Bring to a boil (about 3-4 minutes), turn the heat down to medium and cover the pot. In the same bowl you marinated the chicken swish around the 5 cups of water and set aside for now.

After 4 minutes with that lid on, you’ll notice a lot of liquid sprouted. Turn the heat back up to high and burn off that liquid to intensify the overall flavor of the curry. (lid off).

3-4 minutes on high and the liquid should be gone. Add the potato, stir and add the 5 cups of water to fully cook the chicken and get the potatoes tender and falling apart.

As soon as it comes to a boil, turn the heat down to a rolling boil, lid on (slightly ajar) and allow it to cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. This is where I floated the Habanero pepper (not mentioned in the ingredient list) .. if you do, you can break it later on as I did, to release the fury or don’t break to get the flavor of the oil on the outside of the pepper and not the raw heat.

Here is where you’ll taste it for salt and adjust to your liking. Also, you can (up to you) use your spoon to crush some of the potato pieces to help thicken the gravy.

I allowed the pot to go for 4 minutes with the lid off and then it was time to turn off the stove, toss in the cilantro (better if you have shado beni) and get ready for an incredible curry dish. IMPORTANT! If it looks runny, please note that it will thicken up as it cools down.

Back to using chicken breast… be sure to check out my Curry Chicken Breast video if you like white meat and you don’t want dry, bland and tough curry chicken without bones and dark meat.

Serve with hot steaming rice or your favorite Roti! Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate Masala Chicken.

May 27, 2025November 20, 2020Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for the ULTIMATE Curry Chicken dish cooked in under 30 minutes, you’re in the right place. This classic masala chicken is not only packed with a definitive punch of flavor, it’s super easy and quick to put together. Using skinless, boneless chicken thighs is the key for maximum flavor and speed of cooking.

You’ll Need…

4-5 lbs chicken (bones, fat and skin removed)
2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
3/4 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper (sliced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
3 tablespoon olive oil
8-12 cloves garlic (divided)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 shallot (sliced)
2 tablespoon curry powder
1/3 cup water (cooking the curry at the start)
1 tablespoon ground roast geera (cumin)
1 tablespoon Anchar Masala
2 tablespoon chopped parsley (cilantro or shado bein will be better)

Note: I used boneless chicken thighs as I find that I get the most flavor from this cut of chicken (with bones will give you even more flavor IMHO) as most people hate dealing with bones. If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use, as some may have flour as a filler/thickener.

I somehow lost the first set of images of me cutting and seasoning the chicken so if you want to see that part, watch the video below.

Cut the chicken into serving size pieces (I go traditional and wash my chicken with lemon or lime juice and cool water – but it’s up to you to do this step) then season with the salt, black pepper, ketchup, Caribbean Green Seasoning, scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds if you’re concerned about the raw heat) and tomato. The ketchup and tomato will add a lovely balance with the acidity and help with a thick gravy at the end. Mix well and allow to marinate for a couple hours.

Get a heavy pot on a high heat, add the oil, then add the onion, shallot and 4 cloves of garlic (smashed) and cook for about 40 seconds to one minute on that high heat.

Add the curry powder and stir well to wet-toast and allow the spices which makes up the curry powder to bloom.

It will go darker and clump, then add the 1/3 cup of water and stir. Add the roasted geera (cumin) and Anchar Masala (check your local Caribbean grocery store) and stir well. With the heat still on high, that water will burn off (yes we MUST burn off that liquid) to the point you’re seeing the oil we started with at the bottom of the pot. Burning off that liquid will ensure we don’t get a ‘raw’ curry taste later on. Start adding the seasoned chicken to the pot and stir well to deglaze and coat.

After 5 minutes, you’ll see juices naturally spout – add the remaining garlic, turn the heat down to fully cook the chicken and place a lid on the pot. If you find that the liquid is burning off quickly, add about 1/2 cup of water to the pot.

After about 20-25 minutes later, taste for salt turn off the stove and top with parsley. As mentioned above, Shado Beni (culantro) or cilantro will be better than the parsley, but all I had was parsley this day.

For more gravy you may need to add a bit of water during the cooking process (watch the video below). If you use chicken pieces with bones, it may take more than 20-25 minutes to fully cook through.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

The Ultimate 5 Alarm Curry Chicken Recipe.

May 27, 2025April 22, 20191 Comment

There’s something very WRONG about a Curry Chicken which is not spicy (IMHO). However what we’re about to make here is simply insane when it comes to raw heat.. so be warned. With an abundance of hot peppers in my garden and with my luv for spicy foods, I thought I’d share what I call my 5 Alarm Curry Chicken recipe with you. Packed with deep flavors of a good curry and the added heat from organically grown peppers, this curry chicken is absolutely delicious.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs Chicken (cut into pieces)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 small onion (diced)
3-4 cloves garlic (diced)
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 large tomato (diced)
2-3 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 habanero peppers (sliced)
2 scotch bonnet peppers (sliced)
1 fatali pepper (sliced)
4 dried cayenne peppers
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoon Curry powder
2-3 Carolina Reapers (cut in half)
1 cup water
1 scallion (chopped)
3-4 leaves shado beni (optional – chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (chopped)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free, be sure to go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use as a some may have flour as a filler.

Let’s start by seasoning the cleaned chicken (I used legs and thighs which I cut into small pieces .. remove the skin and fat as best you can). Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl, followed by the salt, black pepper, tomato, Caribbean Green Seasoning, Habanero peppers, scotch bonnet peppers and Fatali pepper. I included the seeds of the pepper as I wanted the raw heat. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers. Stir well and allow to marinate for at least 1 hr in the fridge.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pot (I used a cast iron pot) on a medium heat, then go in with the onion and garlic.. turn the heat down to as low as it will go and cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Then add the dried cayenne peppers along with the coriander and cumin seeds. Heat still on low, cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

It’s now time to add your favorite curry powder. I have a blend I make, which is based on the Madras curry blend. Mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the rawness of the curry is cooked out… it gets darker in color and the spices which makes up a good curry powder is allowed to bloom. You may need to add a bit more vegetable oil.

It’s now time to crank up the heat to high and add the seasoned chicken to the pot. Stir well to coat in the curry base we created. Yes, it’s fine if the marinade goes into the pot as well. In the same bowl you marinated the chicken, swish around the cup of water to pick up any remaining marinade and set aside for use shortly.

Turn the heat down to medium, cover the pot and cook for about 5 minutes. At this point you may add the remaining Carolina peppers (if you so desire using) It will spring it’s own natural juices. Now remove the lid off the pot and take the heat up a bit to burn off any liquid in the pot. This step will intensify the curry flavor onto the chicken pieces. Be sure to have the fan above your stove on or at least open your kitchen window or risk being choked by the strong peppers.

When you can see the vegetable oil we started off with at the bottom of the pan, you may now add the water, along with he scallions and shado beni. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-12 minutes.

The gravy should be somewhat thick at the point (it will thicken with the residual heat of the pot as it cools) and the chicken fully cooked (depending on how large pieces you used). Taste for salt (adjust) and top with the chopped cilantro.

There’s no mistaking that this is a very SPICY curry chicken dish and to be honest, not for most people. However if heat is your thing, you’ll love this 5 Alarm Curry Chicken dish. You can certainly add more or remove some peppers or play with different varieties of peppers if you wish.

Do you own a copy of my cookbook ?- The Vibrant Caribbean Pot 100 Traditional And Fusion recipes Vol 2

Meat & Poultry

Ultimate Curry Chicken?

May 27, 2025January 8, 201047 Comments

trinidad curry chicken 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.

chicken for curry recipe

seasoned chicken for curry

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.

seasoned trini curry chicken recipe

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.

how to curry chicken

frying curry for chicken recipe

jamaican curry chicken

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.

trini curry chicken

guyana chicken curry

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.

ultimate curry chicken

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.

trinidad curry chicken

curry chicken recipe

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:

Caribbean Pot on Facebook

Guyanese chicken curry

Simply Delicious 20 Minute Curry Chicken.

Incredible Curry Chicken Breast.

Incredible Caribbean Curry Chicken With Potato.

The Ultimate Masala Chicken.

The Ultimate 5 Alarm Curry Chicken Recipe.

Ultimate Curry Chicken?

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