Hello everyone! Today,
I’m sharing another childhood favourite: Jamaican Curry Chicken. I can still
recall many Sunday afternoons sitting on a veranda in suburban St. Andrew with
a plate of curry chicken and rice in my lap as Beres Hammond’s melodious voice drifted
over from a neighbour’s radio, crooning out hits like “I Feel Good” and
“Rockaway”.
Jamaica has a sizeable population of Indian descent given the
history of indentured servitude which began in 1845, due to the social and
economic changes that arose after the emancipation of slaves in 1838. Between
1845 and 1917 over 36,000 Indians came to the island, and after this period
smaller numbers came to Jamaica in the twentieth century as merchants rather
than labourers.
Fast forward to 2017 and it’s safe to say that the varied
ethnic cultures in Jamaica have influenced each other greatly. As a natural
product of this passage of time, recipes have evolved accordingly. Thus, the
Jamaican Curry Chicken we see today is distinct from the original chicken curry
seen in contemporary India. It has become a Jamaican culinary classic that
embodies the nation’s motto “Out of Many, One People.”
Traditionally, Jamaican Curry Chicken is served over white
rice, with curried Russet Potatoes (or Irish Potatoes as they are known in
Jamaica) mixed in with the chicken. However, in the recipe below I have made a
slight change and replaced the potatoes with red bell peppers. Don’t get me
wrong, I love the conventional way of cooking curry chicken; but as we’ve seen
culture is fluid and there’s always room for innovation. As such, I thought
this would be a fun and delicious tweak on tradition. Plus, the sweetness of
the peppers compliments the curry sauce beautifully; providing a depth of
flavour that the potatoes can sometimes lack as they tend to absorb the sauce and
blend in with the rice, rather than add another dimension of their own. So,
whether you’re a Jamaican looking for a taste of home or a foreigner looking to
experience the cultural complexity and flavours of our island paradise, this
dish is for you! Let’s get started:
