This Jamaican Curry Chicken recipe is a really rich, flavorful, and hearty stew filled with juicy chicken, wonderful aromatics, and filling elements such as carrots and potatoes.
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Perks and Highlights of the Best Jamaican Curry Chicken
Cuisine Inspiration: Jamaican Get ready, foodies, because we’re diving fork-first into the vibrant world of Jamaican cuisine with this dish. The island vibes are practically packed into every bite!
Primary Cooking Method: Braising Slow and low is the tempo for this dish, y’all! Braising makes sure all those spices get to know each other and the chicken, so every bite is flavor-packed.
Dietary Info: High-Protein, Gluten-Free Worry not about your dietary needs; this chicken dish is a protein powerhouse and keeps it gluten-free. Win-win!
Key Flavor: Spicy, Savory, and Complex This isn’t just any curry; it’s Jamaican curry. Expect a full-bodied, spicy kick complemented by an array of savory notes and a complexity that’ll have your taste buds doing the reggae!
Skill Level: Intermediate You don’t have to be a chef to get this party started, but a little cooking experience will help you handle these spices like a pro.
Special Perks:
- Flavor Fiesta: This isn’t just food; it’s a carnival in your mouth! The dynamic Jamaican spices bring a unique flavor party you won’t find in any other curry.
- Health Kick: Jam-packed with lean protein from the chicken and super spices like turmeric, you’re not just eating delicious food; you’re nourishing your body, soul, and taste buds!
- Meal Prep Friendly: Make a big batch, and you’ve got meals for days! It reheats like a dream, and the flavors meld even more over time. Leftovers? More like flavor-overs!
- Crowd Pleaser: Perfect for your family dinner or serving up at a big gathering. It’s a universal truth – everybody loves curry, especially when it’s this good.
- Adaptable Heat: You’re in control of the spice level. Keep it mild for the kiddos or crank up the heat for a true island experience. You call the shots!
What Is Curry Chicken?
Curry chicken is a really rich, flavorful, and hearty stew filled with chicken, wonderful aromatics, and filling elements such as carrots and potatoes. This dish is best served over a bed of rice (typically Jamaican rice and peas), with roti (round flatbread), and/or with plantains.
There are so many different kinds of curry from many cultural backgrounds.
The curry that I am using in this recipe and am most familiar with is authentic Jamaican curry. This type of curry is commonly found in your local Caribbean markets and grocery stores. Just be sure that the label reads Jamaican-style curry for authenticity purposes.
Ingredients
- Marination Station:
- First things first, let’s get that chicken singing with flavor. Grab a large ziplock bag, rally your chicken pieces, and throw them into the bag.
- Now, it’s time for that flavor pow-wow. Sprinkle in your curry powder, cumin, salt, and allspice. Seal that bag up tight and give it a good old shake, like you’re a superstar maraca player. Every piece should be coasting in seasoning bliss.
- Pop your flavor-packed poultry in the fridge for a chill session. Thirty minutes will do, but hey, if you’ve got all night, go for the overnight marination. The longer, the stronger the flavor game!
- Sizzle and Brown:
- Heat your oil in a large dutch oven or stockpot over a medium-high heat, ’cause it’s showtime! In go the chicken pieces once the oil is hot enough to sizzle. Cook ’em until they’re just lightly browned, which should take about 5-6 minutes. Keep that stir game strong, folks.
- Veggie Party:
- It’s time to introduce your chicken to its flavor friends: scallions, onions, carrots, garlic, fresh thyme, and the infamous scotch bonnet. Give everyone a good stir and let them mingle in the pot for another 4-5 minutes.
- Simmer Down:
- Now, pour in your water and welcome the potatoes to the party. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let your curry simmer. You’ll need about 15-20 minutes here, just until the potatoes are soft and inviting.
- Before you serve, check that gravy. It should be thick and lavish enough to coat the back of a spoon like a culinary velvet robe.
- Serve It Up:
- You’ve done it! Now, scoop that luxurious curry into bowls and serve it warm. Whether it’s alongside steamed white rice or traditional Jamaican rice and peas, you’re in for a treat.
How To Make Curry Chicken
This amazing dish is so easy to make and comes together so quickly, ya’ll!
To begin, you want to season the chicken pieces with the seasonings and then place it into the refrigerator to let marinate.
This process allows the chicken to fully absorb the spices and penetrate for maximum flavor. Next, you simply brown the chicken on the stovetop along with plenty of aromatics.
Scallions, onions, fresh thyme, and scotch bonnet pepper are almost considered to be holy grails within Caribbean cooking, ha!
Lastly, add in potatoes and let stew finish cooking. The gravy thickens to a nice texture that should coat the back of a spoon.
Storage and Reheating
Storage 101:
- Once your curry chicken has cooled to room temperature (don’t leave it out longer than 2 hours!), it’s time to store. Portion the curry into airtight containers – glass is great, but BPA-free plastic works too.
- Decide where they’re heading: fridge or freezer? The fridge is perfect for when you plan to re-indulge within 3-4 days. Any longer, and you’re better off giving the freezer a chance to play hero.
Freezer Time:
- Got more curry than you can handle in a few days? No problem! Your freezer isn’t just for ice cream; it’s your curry’s winter wonderland. In the airtight containers, this dish can chill for about 2 months. Pro tip: label your containers with the date so you don’t play the guessing game later on.
Reheat Like a Pro:
- If it’s coming from the fridge, reheat your curry on the stove, low and slow, stirring occasionally. You’re looking for a gentle simmer, not a volcanic eruption.
- Thaw them in the fridge overnight. Then, take it to the stove and reheat it slowly, just like its fridge counterpart.
- To microwave, remove the lid of your container, cover it loosely with a paper towel to avoid splatters, and use medium power in bursts of 2 minutes, stirring in between, until it’s evenly heated through.
FAQs
Is Scotch Bonnet Pepper Hot?
This famous pepper goes into the pot whole, not sliced, so the heat factor is significantly reduced. Scotch bonnet adds a very subtle kind of heat that should not be overwhelming. Once the curry chicken is finished cooking, just discard the pepper. If you prefer/cannot find scotch bonnet, you can skip this pepper altogether and replace with freshly ground black pepper.
Can I Use Other Chicken Parts?
I prefer using boneless/skinless chicken breasts as they tend to cook faster and more evenly. However, feel free to use bone-in, skin-on chicken parts such as thighs and legs. Cooking with these parts will require you to adjust your cooking time and doubling the seasonings.
That’s all she wrote, folks! I hope you all enjoy this delicious recipe as much as me!
Be sure to tag me on the ‘gram if you make this recipe, I always love to see it when you do!
Best Jamaican Inspired Recipes
If you love this, you will also love this Curry Goat, Brown Stew Chicken, Oxtails, Jamaican Beef Patties, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Rice and Peas, and of course Rum Cake.
Curry Chicken
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Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts cut in chucks / up to 1 1/2 lbs
- 2 tbsp Jamaican curry powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt up to 2 tsp/ to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground Jamaican allspice
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 4 scallions chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion roughly chopped
- 2 medium sized carrots sliced into coins
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs de-stemmed
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper left whole
- 2 cups water
- 2 medium sized russet potatoes peeled and cut in quarters
Instructions
- In a large ziplock bag, add in chicken and sprinkle in curry powder, cumin, salt, and allspice. Shake bag to evenly coat chicken pieces. Transfer to the refrigerator to allow seasonings to marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- In a large dutch oven/stockpot, heat up oil over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add in chicken pieces and cook until chicken is lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Be sure to continuously stir chicken.
- Add in scallions, onions, carrots, garlic, fresh thyme, and scotch bonnet. Stir mixture together and continue cooking together for another 4-5 minutes.
- Pour in water and add potatoes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft and cooked through completely. Then discard pepper and stir curry chicken together. Gravy should be thicker and coat the back of a spoon.
- Enjoy warm with steamed white rice or Jamaican rice and peas.
Notes
- Once your curry chicken has cooled to room temperature (don’t leave it out longer than 2 hours!), it’s time to store. Portion the curry into airtight containers – glass is great, but BPA-free plastic works too.
- Decide where they’re heading: fridge or freezer? The fridge is perfect for when you plan to re-indulge within 3-4 days. Any longer, and you’re better off giving the freezer a chance to play hero.
- Got more curry than you can handle in a few days? No problem! Your freezer isn’t just for ice cream; it’s your curry’s winter wonderland. In the airtight containers, this dish can chill for about 2 months. Pro tip: label your containers with the date so you don’t play the guessing game later on.
- If it’s coming from the fridge, reheat your curry on the stove, low and slow, stirring occasionally. You’re looking for a gentle simmer, not a volcanic eruption.
- Thaw them in the fridge overnight. Then, take it to the stove and reheat it slowly, just like its fridge counterpart.
- To microwave, remove the lid of your container, cover it loosely with a paper towel to avoid splatters, and use medium power in bursts of 2 minutes, stirring in between, until it’s evenly heated through.
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Haven’t made this yet, but will soon – it looks delicious! I especially appreciate the link for the Jamaican curry recipe.
Two small comments: 1) canola oil is a GMO in the USA, but not in Europe. It is very high in linoleic acid, which is bad for us, causes inflammation and deposition of dense white plaque, so I use coconut oil instead, a very healthy fat. 2) small comment but I discovered recently that almost all russet potatoes in the US are also GMO, enough to stop my use of them. I use Yukon Gold instead which are not modified. I prefer the texture of russets, but none of the bags I have seen in the store say anything about modification. The list I use is from the US government. When will evil companies stop trying to improve on things created by the Lord God Almighty?
I am a Jamaican and I must say, this recipe was spot on. Good Job!!!
I used very hot chili powder that I had bought somewhere and I will bet it was comparable. Delicious and easy. It did take forever for my potatoes to soften so I kept cutting them smaller and smaller. I’ll bet actual Jamaican curry powder is better with more complex flavor, so I will make it next time. Thanks to Nick S. for the site. I can’t make a lot of your beautiful baked goods because I have to be gluten free. So thank you for this!
This was super easy to make thanks to the easy to follow directions. Extremely simple and delicious recipe! My family was scraping the pot. Since it was a huge hit in my home, next time I will double the recipe. Thanks so much!
A bit of research was needed for this recipe. I’m in Bismarck, ND and even though we have an amazing ethnic store, I have never seen Jamaican curry powder (I will look harder and ask). I have been making by own curry spice blends for years, so I looked for and found a Jamaican blend online (https://www.africanbites.com/jamaican-curry-powder/) . I can’t wait to try this 🙂
I made this this weekend and it was fantastic!!! I went with the homemade curry spice recipe in my original posting.
I like the suggestions for using other types of chicken other than the breast. Will try with chicken thighs. Yum, the depth of flavour sounds amazing!!
Oh yum! I love how you combined Jamaican flavors into the simple curry. Sounds delicious. Now I have to make this. Thanks for the recipe!
I love how flavourful and delicious this sounds! A dish I will certainly be making for myself and my partner!
Chicken curry is favourite in our house and this is one tasty recipe! The family have requested it again soon.
We love a chicken curry. So many different ways to adapt it too.