Trini Curried Chicken

Trini Curried Chicken

I hope you all are doing well on this penultimate day of the month. I can't believe how quickly this year is moving along.

Anyway it's time to focus on the curried chicken which i made yesterday for lunch.

I should make mention that there are several types of curry available on the market and the following link will give you a little insight into the history of curry in Trinidad.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/cooking-with-chiles/148-a-world-of-curries/2723-a-world-of-curries-caribbean-curries?showall=1

Curry powder also has several beneficial health properties as discussed in the article linked below.

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-curry-powder.html

For the curried chicken you will require the following.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 chicken (cut up and seasoned with salt and blended green seasoning)
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 pimento
• 1 hot pepper
• 2 celery, chopped
• 2 chives, chopped
• 1 tbsp curry powder mixed with 1 tsp amchar masala
• Coconut oil
• 1 tsp Geera (cumin) seeds
• Blended green seasoning (bandanya, ginger, chive, celery, garlic, thyme, hot pepper, podinah). See the Stewed Chicken post http://trinifoods2015.blogspot.com/2015/06/stewed-chicken.html  if you have difficulty preparing this.

So here it goes.... this is how I prepare my curried chicken. Again there are alternative sequences which are used.

METHOD

• Heat iron pot.
• On a low flame add about 1bsp of coconut oil and heat.
• Add the geera seeds until they pop
• Add onions and heat until translucent then add the crushed garlic and stir.
• Add the curry powder mix and stir for a few seconds. Ensure the curry grips the pot.

• Add the chicken and stir thoroughly until curry coats the entire surface. 

• Add chopped tomato, some celery, some chive, hot pepper then cover and leave to simmer in its own juices on a low/medium flame. Meanwhile put on a kettle of water to boil.

• As soon as the liquids evaporate and the meat is beginning to stick to the bottom of the pot add the remainder of the chopped seasoning, pour some blended seasoning and stir. The aroma is simply divine at this time. Add some boiling water just to the level of the top of the chicken and cover.

• Ensure that the meat cuts with the spoon before turning off. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust to your desire.

• This dish usually takes between 40 mins to an hour to cook. It all depends on the size of the chicken and how stiff the texture is. So again i urge you please do not leave your pot unattended while cooking.
• You may wish to leave gravy in the curry. However, since I had calalloo for lunch I made a dried curried chicken.

This is the final product which was simply delicious!

Hope this was helpful.