curry chicken

Here’s a dish I grew up enjoying, but rather than starting with the chicken as I’m about to show you, mom would typically use curry or stewed chicken she made the day before. After sharing similar recipes using both French and String Beans, I was asked to do this version.. with Bodi (aka Bora or Yard Beans). The only real difference in using Bodi is that it can be a bit tougher and needs a few extra minutes to go fully tender.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs chicken (cut into 2-3 inch pieces)
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
2 tablespoon veg oil
2 – 2 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds (geera)
1 shallot (or small onion)
5-7 cloves garlic
1 bundle Bodi (about 4-5 cups when trimmed)
1 – 1 1/2 cup water

Note: Add more Scotch Bonnet when cooking the ‘curry’ at the start for an extra kick to the dish. Important! If doing this dish gluten free, please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder you use as some may have flour as a filler.

Clean and trim the chicken (fat and skin etc) then season with the salt, black pepper, Caribbean Green Seasoning and scotch bonnet pepper. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after handling the spicy pepper. Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour.

During this time you can trim and prep the Bodi. Cut off the tips (discard) then cut into 1-1 1/2 inch pieces, wash with cool water. To keep it fresh I usually leave the trimmed bodi (any beans I use) covered in cool water in a deep bowl.

Heat the veg oil in a deep pot on a medium flame, then go in with the sliced shallot (substitute an onion if necessary) , and garlic. Turn the heat to as low as it will go and cook for about 3-4 minutes. I added a few extra slices of scotch bonnet pepper for an extra kick.

Add the cumin seeds and stir well, then add the curry powder and cook for another 3-5 minutes. This will ensure we won’t get a “raw” curry taste at the end, plus it will allow the spices which makes up the curry powder to bloom and give us an amazing curry base. The longer you cook the ‘curry’ the darker it will get. Heat still on low as we don’t want things to burn.

Now crank-up the heat to high and start adding the marinated chicken to the pot. Yes it’s ok if the marinade goes in too. Stir well to coat the chicken with that lovely curry base.

Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to medium. It will spring it’s own natural juices. after bout 5-7 minutes, remove the lid, crank up the heat and burn off that liquid. That will infuse the chicken with the curry flavor. Then add the trimmed Bodi to the pot and stir well. heat on high.

Swish around the water in the same bowl you marinated the chicken in to pick up any remaining marinade, then add that water to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid on for about 25-30 minutes.

After 25 minutes or so the bodi should be nice and tender and the chicken fully cooked. You may check for salt and adjust accordingly and you have the option of having a gravy or turn the heat up to burn off all the liquid. I was serving this on rice so I wanted a bit of gravy.

An amazing curry dish with chicken and beans, packed with Caribbean goodness. Excellent served with hot roti, rice or a side dish as you’d normally serve.

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

Strings Beans With Leftover Curry Chicken.

May 27, 2025March 9, 2018Leave a Comment

I have a definite weakness for String Beans, French Beans, Bodi (Yard Beans), Pole Beans, Seim.. just about any type of bean, once they’re cooked to my liking. Mom always said that even from my childhood days on the islands she was surprised how much I loved beans, spinach (bhagi) and tomato (in no particular order). Yea, I ate my vegetables (except okra and bitter melon)! This is one of those recipes she would make for us whenever we had Bodi or String Beans in our kitchen garden and there was leftover chicken (curry or stew) from the day before.

You’ll Need…

– leftover curry chicken
– 2 lbs string beans (trimmed)
– 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
– 3 cloves garlic (diced)
– 1 small onion (diced)
– 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
– 1/3 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup water
– 5 cherry tomatoes (any tomato works)

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the curry powder, as some may contain flour as a filler.

Prepare your ingredients. Dice the onion and garlic, then trim of the ends off the beans (remove any strings), cut into 1 inch pieces, then wash and drain. This recipe works great with French beans also.

Heat a saucepan (with a lid) on a medium flame, then add the vegetable oil (coconut or olive oil works just as well), then add the onion + garlic and reduce the heat to as low as it will go. Cook for a couple minutes.

Add the prepared beans to the pot, followed by the black pepper and salt. Turn the heat to med/high and stir well.

Add the water and bring to a boil (lid on). As it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes with the lid on. In my case it took about 14 minutes to get to the texture I like my beans.

Remove the lid and add the leftover curry chicken to the pot and give it a good mix to allow the curry flavors to flavor the beans. Cook for 5-7 minutes with the lid off. Then taste for salt (adjust to your liking) and finally you can go in with the tomatoes. I used grape tomatoes, but you can use a medium tomato diced. Note. The tomato is optional. Stir well, place the lid on and turn off the stove. Allow the residual heat to soften the tomatoes.

You’ll notice that I didn’t add any “Caribbean Sunshine” (spicy pepper) to the dish as the curry chicken I added was already a bit spicy, but you can certainly add some at the start if you wanted. For additional flavor you’re free to use coconut milk instead of the water I used to cook the beans. I wanted a mild curry taste, but you can also add some curry powder at the start when you added the garlic and onion, should you want a more pronounced curry taste.

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

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Coconut Curry Chicken Recipe.

May 27, 2025January 26, 20187 Comments

As you make your way across the Caribbean you’ll encounter different methods of cooking curry dishes, influenced by one’s own preference and family traditions. A prime example is my way of cooking coconut curry chicken.. as I’m about to share. My technique and ingredients will differently differ from other recipes you’ll see… even the way I’d see my mom and grandma make their version. Coincidentally I don’t recall mom using coconut in curry chicken, unless it was a tough chicken (we say yard fowl), where the use of the coconut acted as a tenderizer.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs chicken (cut into small pieces)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
4 sprigs thyme
2-3 scallions (chopped)
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
1/3 scotch bonnet pepper
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoon veg oil
1/2 medium onion (diced)
4-6 cloves garlic (smashed)
3 cardamom pods
1 cup water
4-6 grape tomatoes (optional)
2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.. especially the curry powder you use, as some may contain flour as a filler. Also, I used dark/bone pieces of chicken, but this recipe will work just as great with chicken breast.

Season the clean chicken with everything except the oil, coconut milk, curry powder, onion, garlic, cardamom, tomato, cilantro and water. Allow it to marinate for at least 2 hours.

Heat the vegetable oil (coconut oil will be perfect too) on a medium flame then reduce to low and add the diced onion and smashed garlic. Cook for 3 minutes on low. Then add the cardamom and cook another minute or so. Next up add the curry powder (still on low) and stir well. Cook on low to cook off the raw curry taste and to bloom the spices which makes up the curry powder. It will go darker, clump and your kitchen will have a lovely scent of curry.

Now add the coconut milk, turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a med/high heat and cook for 8-10 minutes. The goal is to cook off the liquid and really intensify the coconut flavor. You should end up with a thick base, with hints of the oil you started off with (plus oil from the coconut milk). Stir well as the natural sugars will want to stick/burn.

Here’s where you’ll now add the seasoned chicken and stir well. It’s ok if the marinade goes in as well. The goal here (high heat) is to coat and sear the pieces of chicken with the coconut curry base. Add the water to the same bowl you marinated the chicken in and stir to pick up any marinade left back. Cook the chicken for 7-10 minutes or until you’ve burned off any liquid it may have sprouted naturally.

In the image above you’ll notice that I added an entire scotch bonnet pepper as I like this dish very spicy.. adjust to your own liking. Also remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such spicy peppers. After the chicken is full seared/coated and you don’t have any liquid in the pot (this step was to infuse the chicken with the coconut curry flavors) it’s now time to add the water and stir well. This step is to fully cook the chicken and develop a thick gravy.

Bring to a rolling boil, cover the pot slightly ajar and cook for another 15 minutes. Then here’s where you personalize things. Taste for salt /adjust and cook until you get the desired thickness you like your gravy. For me this was perfect at this point as I knew it would thicken as it cools. Add the chopped cilantro and tomato (use shado benin/culantro if you have) and turn off the stove.

Please watch the video below to further assist in perfecting this coconut curry chicken. Some of you may question my use of ketchup and tomatoes.. both brings their own flavor and uniqueness, especially a bit of acidity in helping to balance things. BTW- tomato is very natural (and important) in cooking curry chicken when it originated.

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

Meat & Poultry

Oven Roasted Curry Chicken Recipe.

May 27, 2025June 5, 20164 Comments

Mom never swayed from the ‘traditional’ way of cooking curry chicken (as done in the Caribbean) when she would sort us out with a good curry and dhalpuri roti on the occasional Sunday morning. While nothing can compare to such a classic method of cooking curry chicken, I’m always looking for ways to change things up a bit. In this recipe we’ll marinate the chicken in a rich yogurt curry marinade, before roasting it in the oven.

You’ll Need…

1 medium Chicken (cut into 1/4)
1 cup yogurt
1/4 teaspoon salt (adjust)
2 scallions
4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic
1 lemon
2 birds eye pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Give all the necessary ingredients a fine chop, them mix everything into a marinade. Pour it over the chicken pieces, massage and put in the fridge covered with plastic wrap to marinate for at least 2 hours. If your chicken pieces are large/thick I would recommend giving each piece a cut to allow the marinade to really penetrate and to help in the roasting process later on. Remember to trim off any excess skin and fat and discard. I included the seeds from the bird’s eye pepper (use any hot pepper you like) for that extra kick. Remove if you’re concerned about the raw heat.

Preheat your oven to 400 F.. as it comes up to temperate remove the chicken out of the fridge. Place it on a roasting pan lined with parchment paper to make it easy to clean up later when it’s done roasting. BTW, the marinade may stain your fingers, so if you’re concerned about this use tongs or wear gloves when you season the chicken with the marinade.

Roast on the middle rack for about 50 minutes, uncovered.

During the summer months you can grill the chicken for another level of flavor.. but I would recommend grilling on an indirect heat, so you don’t risk flare-ups and burned pieces of chicken (and overly DRY chicken). As mentioned, this is not your typical curry chicken, however the yogurt based marinade will help tenderize the chicken pieces and you’ll find that the chicken breast will be moist and juicy.

Do leave comments below and remember to share your pictures on Instagram and Twitter with the #CaribbeaPot to be featured.

Meat & Poultry

Curry Chicken Pelau.

May 27, 2025April 21, 201612 Comments

We were into hour 5 of the long drive to Connecticut from Toronto to watch the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors take on the US men’s national team in a world Cup qualifying game. My friend who was the designated driver for the trip, asked if I had ever done a curry chicken pelau. The next hour or so we found ourselves engrossed in the possibility of such a recipe and why we thought it was a delicious idea. Though neither of us had tried it before, in our minds it was doable.This curry chicken pelau is a tribute to that trip and the way we dissected the (possible) recipe.

You’ll Need…

2 boneless/skinless chicken breast (1.5-2 lbs)
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green seasoning
2 scallions (chopped)
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 med tomato (diced)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1/4 teaspoon garam masala (optional)
1 teaspoon tomato ketchup
2 tablespoon curry powder (divided)
2 tablespoon veg oil
1 can coconut milk (abt 1.5 cups)
2 cups water
2 cups parboiled brown rice (washed)
1 can pigeon peas (drained/rinsed)
1 carrot
4 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

* adjust liquid as necessary – since different brands of rice tend to differ in cooking time.

Cube the chicken into 3/4 inch pieces and season with the Caribbean Green Seasoning, black pepper, salt, scallions, Garam Masala, 1/4 of the curry powder, ketchup, scotch bonnet pepper and tomato. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers. Stir well and allow to marinate for a couple hours in the fridge.

Heat the veg oil on a medium flame, then go in with the chopped garlic and onion, turn the heat down to LOW and gently cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add the remaining curry powder (heat still on low) and cook for another 4 mins. This will allow us to bring out the flavors of all the spices which make up the curry powder.

Turn the heat up to high now and add the seasoned chicken and stir well… try to pick up all the curry-goodness at the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat to med, cover and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. It will spring it’s own juices.

Remove the lid and crank up the heat to burn off all that liquid and infuse the chicken pieces with the curry base. Now add the diced carrot and pigeon peas. Stir well.

In the same bowl you marinated the chicken swish around the water to pick up any remaining marinade.. pour into the pot now. Along with the coconut milk. Wash the rice (to remove grit and extra starch), drain and ad it to the pot. To wash the rice you have two options as we’ve discussed before. 1. Place in a bowl, add water and using your hands massage. the water will turn white… drain. repeat until the water runs relatively clear. Option 2. Place in a strainer and run water over the rice.. Massage with your fingers. When the water runs clear, the rice is washed.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, have the lid slightly ajar and cook until tender and all the liquid is gone. About 25 minutes. Here is where you personalize things a bit near the end. I like my pelau a bit grainy so that liquid was enough for the way I wanted it. Add more water if you want it more ‘soggy” (wet pelau) and be sure to taste for salt and adjust accordingly. As I turn the heat off I topped it with the chopped cilantro.

Tip: To avoid having dry pieces of chicken I would recommend using chicken thighs. This is NOT traditional pelau.. had to make that clear as I know this post/recipe will only encourage the ‘hate’ comments. This is a fusion of curry chicken and rice using a technique similar to make chicken pelau… except we didn’t ‘stew’ the chicken as would normally be done. Serve warm!

Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

Curry Chicken With Chickpeas & Potato (channa and aloo).

May 27, 2025July 10, 201513 Comments

Curry channa and aloo (chickpeas and potato) is a classic vegetarian curry dish hailing from the Caribbean… with a strong Indian influence. Due to the fact that Indian indentured laborers where brought in from India after slavery was abolished to upkeep the sugarcane industry. I started adding chicken to the mix as a means of adding more flavor and added texture to the mix. Plus it’s a great way to use chicken breast, without it going dry and bland. I may have mentioned that I’m no fan of chicken breast – more a dark-meat kinda guy. In this recipe we’ll cut back on the overall cooking time by using canned chickpeas (Channa) and in an upcoming post, I’ll show you how to use shrimp instead of chicken.

You’ll Need…

1 lb boneless chicken breast
1 can chick peas (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 scotch bonnet
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tomato
1 teaspoon caribbean green seasoning
2 tablespoon veg oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic
1/2 small onion
2 tablespoon cilantro (or shado beni | culantro)
2 cups water
1 large potato
2 slices ginger (optional)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs (specially the curry powder – some brands contain flour as a filler).

Place the cubed (1 inch pieces) chicken in a bowl and season with the chopped tomato, salt, black pepper, Caribbean green seasoning, chopped scotch bonnet (no seeds) and diced tomato. Mix well and allow to marinate for 30 minutes. Remember to wash your hands with soap and water after handling such hot peppers.

In a deep saucepan heat the oil on a low heat, then add the diced onion and garlic and cook (low heat) for about 3 minutes. Then add the curry powder (your fav) and cook for another 3-4 minutes on low. This step we’re cooking the rawness of the curry and highlighting the spices which make up the curry blend.

Turn the heat to med/high and add the seasoned chicken pieces to the pot and stir well. The idea is to deglaze the bottom of the pan to pick up all the curry goodness. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often. the chicken will spring it’s own juices.. that’s natural.

Add the 2 cups of water to the same bowl you marinated the chicken in to pick up any remaining marinade..we need that. By this time the liquid in the pan will start burning off and you’ll start seeing the oil we started off with. Add the cubed potato (large pieces) and chickpeas (be sure to wash and drain).

Stir well, add the water, ginger and bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil, reduce to a rolling boil and cook with the lid slightly ajar for about 25 minutes. Basically until the pieces of potato are tender and you have a nice thick gravy.

Taste for salt and adjust if necessary (remember we only added salt when we seasoned the chicken) – that was enough for me. If by chance you find that your gravy is too thin, use the back of your cooking spoon to crush some of the chickpeas and potato and it will thicken things. Top with the chopped cilantro (or shado beni) and enjoy (with rice or roti)!

Such a classic curry dish and so easy to put together. Remember in the coming weeks I’ll have something very similar, except we’ll be using some plump shrimp for a totally different flavor – you’ll be blown away with that one.