Name: Jamaican Curry Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp curry powder; 2 potatoes, cut into big chunks; 8oz baby carrots, or 2 big carrots cut into chunks; 1/2 cup water; Salt to taste; 2 lbs chicken, cut into large chunks; 3 Tbsp curry powder; 1 medium onion, diced; 5 scallions, chopped; 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 Tbsp ginger, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 1 green bell pepper, chopped; 1 red bell pepper, chopped; 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped; 10 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried thyme); 1-2 jalapeños (see note1); 1/2 tsp cumin; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 6-7 allspice pimento berries (optional); 2 Tbsp olive oil

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Jamaican Curry Chicken… Just three words: Simple, Bold and Flavorful.

Chicken and potatoes, everyone’s favorite comfort food… Curry it!! You will be amazed how much flavor you get in every single bite. Bring home these fresh and delicious Caribbean flavors, they are extremely straightforward and easy to cook.

Jamaican curry chicken is distinctively bright yellow in color, and after cooking low and slow it ends up melt in your mouth tender, full of Caribbean fresh herbs and spices.

A bowl of Jamaican curry chicken atop a beautiful blue plate.

If you are a curry lover, you will find plenty of curries on GypsyPlate. Thinking Caribbean, we already have Trinidad Curry Chicken and Caribbean Mussel Curry.

Indian, of course, we have Chicken Masala, Pork Vindaloo and Beef Kheema. We even have Japanese Beef Curry, which is one of our most popular recipes.

All of these curries end up with different flavor profiles, yet all of them are so comforting and finger licking delicious. Today’s Jamaican curry chicken is no different.

You will love the simplicity and ease of this pretty straight forward dish. It doesn’t need any special seasoning paste or sofrito, like so many other Caribbean recipes.

Just some fresh produce and curry powder is all you need to whip up this island favorite…

What is Jamaican Curry Chicken?

A big potful of this tasty curry loaded with chicken, carrots and potatoes.

One of the absolute favorites of all the locals from Jamaica, curry chicken is something everyone grew up on and adores. They in fact love to curry everything. Curry goat, oxtail, and shrimp are just a few popular examples.

Jamaican curries are not as hot as some of the Indian or Thai curries. Unlike in India, where individual spices are used rather than a single blend of spices, islanders there use their beloved curry powder.

Jamaican curry powder is bright yellow in color, as it tends to be heavy on turmeric. It’s mild and not very spicy. Every household has their favorite curry brand, Betapac being one of the most popular.

Check out our collection of favorite Curry Recipes!

Most of the curry powders have spices like coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ground mustard seeds, dried ginger and allspice, in addition to turmeric.

If some heat is wanted in the curry, chicken is usually spiced up with scotch bonnet pepper, which is local to the islands. Using additional pimento berries or allspice, either whole or in powder form, is also very common. Throw in some fresh herbs like thyme and cilantro and there you go… one finger licking curry!

Curries in the Caribbean are the outcome of migration in the early 1800’s. It is believed that it came from India, when workers were brought to work on plantations all over the Caribbean to the British colonies.

Ingredients for Jamaican Curry Chicken

Chicken
Veggies – Onion, green onions (scallions), bell peppers (red and green) and tomatoes. All veggies are diced.
Aromatics & Herbs – Garlic, ginger, cilantro and fresh thyme, all chopped.
Jalapeño – Chopped, with seeds removed. Sometimes we add habanero or scotch bonnet pepper instead of jalapeño for additional kick. Leave the scotch bonnet pepper whole for flavors and not too much kick. If you want more heat, use half of one cut into pieces.
Spices – Curry powder, allspice berries, pepper and cumin. You can buy Jamaican curry powder in many grocery stores, or in Caribbean grocery stores.
Potatoes
Carrots
Salt
Olive oil

What is the best cut of chicken to use?

Traditionally, whole cut up chicken is used. You can either do that, or use only dark meat. We recommend using either bone-in skinless chicken thighs or boneless chicken thighs.

Using chicken breast for any curry results in dried out, hard chicken instead of juicy, fall of the bone tender meat.

How to make Jamaican Curry Chicken

Two important steps for cracking Jamaican curry is marinating the chicken and cooking it slow and low to let the flavors develop.

We kept the chicken pieces on the larger size. You can cut them smaller, but don’t go too small, as they might disintegrate when cooking for a long time.

In a large bowl or pan, mix the chicken pieces with curry powder, salt, pepper, onions, tomatoes, scallions, thyme, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, cilantro, jalapeño, allspice berries, cumin and olive oil. Mix well.

Chicken and veggies marinating in spices.

We really recommend marinating this overnight in the refrigerator, covered by cling wrap. This really helps with flavors. If short for time, marinate in the morning, or at least 2-3 hours.

When ready to cook, the real authentic way for many Jamaicans is to “burn the curry”. You start making the curry by heating up the oil in dutch oven or some heavy bottom pan over medium heat and stir in curry powder for about 30-40 seconds.

You actually don’t BURN anything, it’s just a way to release the flavors from the spices.

The next step is to sear the chicken pieces brown, this adds a lot of flavors to the curry. For this, only take the chicken pieces from the marinade, leaving all the rest of the herbs and veggies, and add them to the pan.

Cook the chicken 4-5 minutes per side so it’s nicely seared all over. Now add all the rest of the marinade and veggies in the pot and stir well.

Most of the people cook this curry chicken only in its own juices, or a very small amount of water. Too much water can make your curry chicken less flavorful and bland.

Let the chicken cook with all the veggies for 10 minutes, it releases a lot of juices. Add 1/2 cup of water along with carrots and salt. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Time to add chunks of potatoes and cook till they are soft and the chicken is fall off the bone tender.

The big potful of Jamaican curry cooked and ready to eat!

Variations

Swap the protein. If you are a fan of goat or lamb, curry goat is extremely popular with Jamaicans. You can make the same curry with shrimp, too. All Yum…
The above mentioned method is a basic and authentic Jamaican curry chicken. One major variation many households make every now and then is to add in coconut milk to make it more creamy and rich. For this, just skip water and add in a 15oz can of coconut milk when you are adding in the carrots. The rest of the method is exactly the same. We at GypsyPlate love it either way and can’t figure it out yet which one is our favorite… 🙂

The coconut milk version of Jamaican curry chicken.

What to serve Jamaican Curry Chicken with?

The first choice is always with any kind of your favorite rice, white rice being No.1. This curry is absolutely delicious over a heap of fluffy, freshly made warm white rice. It’s very common to scarf it down with the island’s other specialty, rice and peas.
It’s excellent with rotis. Jamaicans are fond of rotis, so think rotis, naan bread or parathas.

Leftovers

So good… Like any curry, all the flavors mingle and get accentuated the next day. Make a big batch and enjoy it up to 3-4 days, storing in an airtight container in your refrigerator.

Curry without coconut milk freezes well for up to a couple of months in your freezer. Simply thaw and reheat it, stirring occasionally over stove top.

So what are you waiting for? Get some Jamaican style curry powder the next time you go grocery shopping.

When in a curry mood, go the island way and make this delicious curry chicken in your very own kitchen. We like to bring you all these amazing curry flavors from all over the world.

Subscribe and share GypsyPlate, as there is a lot more coming your way. Get currying, and have fun…

Check out our collection of favorite Chicken Recipes!