Jamaican Curried Chicken

After the sweet gluttony of Thanksgiving, I was craving something spicy and savory. I spent each summer in Jamaica while growing up and my favorite dish that our housekeepers made us was curried chicken. It's the ultimate comfort food. I would sit quietly outside the small, steamy kitchen watching these lovely women prepare my family this wholesome, satisfying meal while the sparkling Caribbean sea lapped quietly at the edge of our villa. I have been so blessed to learn some terrific Jamaican food from these hard working, proud and loving women, many of whom were retired and crossed the island to come offer me condolences when I returned after my parents passed away. They lovingly wrapped me in their arms while tears streamed down their faces as they soothed me with their gentle words and showered me with maternal love. This meal offers me a sense of love and peace and is my homage to Ullalee, Beverly and Claire- three of the best people I've ever had the privilege to know and love.

When we returned to Jamaica last year I stocked up on their spices and amazing ketchup, but the internet has now made the products easily available, or I jaunt over to Fiesta in East Austin where they carry Jamaican curry spices.

INGREDIENTS:
1 whole chicken cut into small pieces, but I used three whole bone in breasts today with skin removed.
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 large onion, halved
1 carrot cut into large chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onion sprigs- whole
5 sprigs fresh thyme
3 Tbs Jamaican curry powder (The curry does not actually have curry seasoning, but is mainly tumeric, cumin, thyme, garlic, fenugreek, ginger and cloves).
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper or habanero pepper. Jalapeno could be used as well.

In a dutch oven, heat about 2 tbs oil, brown chicken, set aside on a plate and then brown onions, garlic, carrots and pepper until softened over medium low heat- about 10 minutes. Add chicken back to the pan, curry seasoning, stock, coconut milk and thyme sprigs. A splash of red stripe beer is also nice :-) Cover and lpace in the oven at 250 degrees about 2.5 hours. Serve with beans and rice. Jamaicans usually use pingeon peas, but I had black beans in my pantry, so used those. This is some of the best tasting rice you will ever eat!!

 Ya mon

 After about one hour. I strain the sauce through a mesh strainer and toss away the aromatics.

Rice Broth

1 cup rice

2 cups water

3 minced garlic cloves

1 green onion

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 tbs butter or smart balance-

Cook the rice in the broth until done, discard the bay leaf and green onion, stir in beans and serve with curry.

Arroz con Pollo

What's not to love about chicken and rice cooked low and slow in one pot and served steaming hot and family style on a chilly Sunday evening??? I love the flavors of this classic Latin/Caribbean comfort dish. Now I'm a Scottish/Belgian mix, so my recipe may not be entirely authentic, but it is super tasty and freezes well if you cook up a big batch for later consumption.

I typically don't measure out stuff, but the spices listed are a ballpark figure. Always be sure to taste as you go and adjust accordingly. All sorts of chicken pieces would be great in this dish, but here we just used the breast pieces. I also used saffron and annato (achiote) and it was terrific. Plus I threw in turmeric, which is probably not authentic, but turmeric is so good for you and it added a terrific golden hue to the dish.

INGREDIENTS
4 whole chicken breasts, bone in.
1 jar of roasted red bell pepper, cut peppers into strips
1 medium white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 bottle beer- we used a lager (or use 1.5 cups dry white wine)
1 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base
1 tbs dried oregano
1tsp dried thyme
1 tsp onion powder
1 thread saffron
1 tbs annato powder
2 tsp sweet paprika
a pinch of smoked paprika
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 dried bayleaf
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts. In a large oven proof pan with a lid (set aside for later), heat oil over med-high heat and brown chicken breasts until golden, skin side down- about 7 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and flip the breasts over and add onions, peppers, garlic, herbs and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add beer and bring to a simmer.

 Add stock and cover the pan and place in a 225 preheated oven and cook low and slow 2.5 hours. You could cook it for only an hour, but low and slow makes the meat meltingly tender and juicy. After 2.5 hours, add the brown rice and butter, cover and cook another hour until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Garnish with chopped cilantro or Italian parsley and serve directly at the table. I've added peas to the dish with the rice and that is also pretty tasty, but the hubs hates peas, so I didn't put them in this time.