Trinidad Curry Chicken

By Sprig Originals ✓ · with credit

Adapted from cookingwithria.com

Bone-in chicken marinated in fresh green seasoning, then simmered down in a dark, toasted curry until the sauce clings to every piece. This is the Sunday-pot curry of Trinidad — herbaceous, garlicky and gently fiery.

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 4 pimento peppers
• hot pepper such as habanero, scotch bonnet or wiri wiri, to taste
• 2 heads garlic, peeled
• 10 leaves culantro (or chopped cilantro)
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 6 sprigs parsley (or cilantro, or both)

• 4 lbs chicken, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup vinegar (or juice of 1 large lemon or lime), for washing
• 1/2 cup green seasoning (from above)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 onion, chopped and divided between the marinade and the pot

• 4 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• hot pepper, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut the chicken into 2-inch pieces, trimming away excess skin and fat. Wash it in a bowl of cool water with the vinegar or citrus juice, rubbing each piece clean, then rinse and drain very well — wet chicken will steam instead of fry.
2. Make the green seasoning: put the 1/4 onion, scallions, pimento peppers, hot pepper, garlic, culantro, thyme and parsley into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and pasty. You'll need 1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon for this curry; keep the rest in a jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
3. Season the drained chicken with 1/2 cup green seasoning, half of the chopped onion, the salt and the black pepper. Massage it in, cover tightly and marinate at least 30 minutes in the fridge, or up to 2 days for deeper flavour.
4. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over high heat until it shimmers. Add the remaining chopped onion and the optional chopped hot pepper and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onion edges turn golden brown.
5. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, 1 teaspoon green seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Keep stirring for 2 to 3 minutes as the mixture bubbles down, darkens and turns grainy and fragrant — this toasting step is what makes the curry taste like curry rather than raw spice.
6. Add the seasoned chicken and stir until every piece is coated in the curry paste. Cook uncovered on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring often, letting the chicken release its liquid and the flavours build.
7. When the mixture starts catching on the bottom of the pot, cover it, drop the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so nothing sticks. The chicken should be fully tender and the sauce thick and clinging.
8. If the pot looks dry, splash in a little water and boil uncovered for 5 minutes more until the sauce thickens again. Taste and adjust the salt, then scatter with chopped culantro or cilantro and serve hot with rice, roti or dhal.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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