Time for Spice!

Two weeks ago, I made plum chutney, as I do almost every fall -- I've posted the recipe more than once (link to my chutney recipes). Home-made chutney needs two weeks for flavors to blend -- so yesterday was the day for sampling it.

To go with the chutney, I made curried chicken and spiced cauliflower, garnishing with chopped tomatoes and cilantro, plain yogurt, lime wedges, and flatbread.

Recipe: West Indian Curried Chicken Roti 

Ingredients for spice blend

2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon crushed dried chili flakes or smoked paprika
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoon ground or whole cloves
1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt

Ingredients for curried chicken

1 chicken cut into 8 pieces or equivalent chicken parts
2 Tb, vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 large clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
A hot pepper, such as Scotch bonnet, jalapeno, or serrano, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste
2 cups chicken broth
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Garnishes

Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped fresh parsley
Diced fresh tomatoes
Unsweetened yogurt
Chutney
West Indian Bread for Roti -- whole-wheat pita or tortillas seem to be ok.

Directions

Measure out and combine the spices for the blend. Heat a large skillet or sauté pan and dry-cook the spice mixture, shaking the pan frequently, until spices are fragrant and just beginning to smoke. Remove spices from the pan and allow to cool completely. While spice is cooling, start cooking the chicken as below. When cool, crush the spices in a mortar or spice mill until very finely ground. Use half the spice mixture in the chicken, and save the rest for another purpose. (I used it for roasted cauliflower, served as a side-dish.)

Quickly add 2 tbsp. oil to the skillet as soon as you remove the spice. Brown the chicken in the oil, allowing some of the spice residue to coat the chicken. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, hot pepper, salt, and spice mixture. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking at a simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is very tender and falling from the bone and the sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 1/2 hours. Boil down liquid and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Serve with the garnishes or garnish to your taste. For West-Indian style roti, you can ladle chicken and sauce into the center of the roti breads, then fold both sides over the filling and fold the top and bottom ends over the sides to form a neat square package. You can remove the bones or serve the chicken with bones still in.

I don't remember where I got the original of this chicken recipe, but I have added my own changes to the text. It's a bit complicated, but worth it!