West Indian Chicken Curry with boiled Manioc

This recipe is perfectly good for currying Goat or Mutton meat too, depending on what you are in the mood for, just add more liquid and extend the cooking time to get the meat completely tender and falling off the bone (2 hours +). I don’t make this anywhere as often as I would like to as any recipe for a meal that begins with cleaving a whole Chicken is not something you can exactly do when you are cooking for one and want a quick meal after a long day on campus!

It does, however, make an excellent meal to have with guests or at a party, needing little work and being perfectly fine if you end up needing to cook it for longer periods, while also being fairly low maintenance. Rice and Peas is a good side to have with this.

– Recipe –

Feeds 3-5

– 1 Chicken, cleaved into 8 portions; legs, thighs, each breast in two with the wings attached (bone on is traditional)

– 1 Onion

– 6 tablespoons Curry Powder

– 2 tablespoons Garam Masala

– 2 tablespoons Thyme

– 2 tablespoons ground Allspice

– Scotch Bonnets/Hot Sauce, to taste – essential

– 1 can Coconut Milk

– Potato or other Root Vegetables, about 300g

– 1 Manioc Root

1. Rub the Chicken in a little Salt and Pepper, and then brown all over on a high heat. Reduce the heat, mix in the Onion and cook 2-3 minutes before adding the Spices. Stir well.
2. Pour in the Coconut Milk and Hot Sauce (maybe a little water, so everything is just covered) then add the Root Vegetables and cook on a medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until the Potato is completely soft and the liquid has substantially thickened.
3. 25 minutes before the end, cut the Manioc into roughly inch thick rings. Cut the skin off each ring and then boil with Salt 15-20 minutes till softened and ‘cracking’ (you will know what I mean when you make it).
4. Serve with Rice.

Enjoy!

Tastes much better than it looks!