Hairy Bikers Caribbean Chicken Curry Recipe

Hairy Bikers Caribbean chicken curry is their chicken and pumpkin curry, with skinned thighs marinated in scotch bonnet, lime and allspice, then simmered with pumpkin. So their British Classics recipe feeds 4 in about 3½ hours, including 2 hours of marinating, at around 300 calories each by my sums.

They can’t guarantee it’ll make you “run as fast as Usain Bolt”, but they say “it will make you smile when you taste it.” And the pumpkin goes in for only the last 15 to 20 minutes, so, as I see it, it keeps its shape.

Marinating for as long as you can matters most, since they say “at least a couple of hours, but overnight is better”. So, to my mind, the paste flavours the meat itself, which matters because it never gets a browned crust.

Hairy Bikers Caribbean Chicken Curry Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Caribbean Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time:2 hours 15 minutesCook time:1 hour 10 minutesRest time: minutesTotal time:3 hours 25 minutesServings:4 servingsCalories:300 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

A blitzed paste of spring onion, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet and allspice marinates skinless thighs for at least 2 hours. Then they braise gently with tomato, thyme and bay, while pumpkin chunks go in near the end. And lime and a dash of rum finish it.

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• sea salt and black pepper

For the marinade

• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 20g fresh root ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 scotch bonnets, seeded and finely chopped
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp medium curry blend, preferably Caribbean
• ½ tsp ground allspice

For the curry

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 300ml chicken stock (or water)
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 large thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 400g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into large chunks (about 4cm, my guide)
• juice of ½ lime
• 1 tsp rum (optional)

To serve

• sliced spring onions
• chopped parsley or coriander
• steamed rice

Instructions

1. Season the chicken: Skin the chicken thighs, put them in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Then blend all the marinade ingredients, lime zest and juice included, to a paste, adding a little water if needed.
2. Marinate: Pour the paste over the chicken and mix until every piece is covered. Then cover and chill it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or overnight if you can.
3. Start the curry: Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole, then fry the onion over a medium heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Then add the chicken and all its marinade, cooking the paste for a couple of minutes without browning the chicken.
4. Simmer: Pour in the stock, or water if you have none, then add the tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves and season. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes.
5. Add the pumpkin: Add the pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes more, covered, then pour in the lime juice and the rum, if using. After that, take the lid off and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender and the sauce has thickened. And as my own check, the chicken should be steaming hot with no pink at the bone.
6. Serve: Scatter with sliced spring onions and parsley or coriander, then serve the thighs on the bone with steamed rice.

FAQs

Can I add coconut milk?

Yes, since their British Classics tip is to add 100ml of coconut milk with the stock, or some grated coconut cream at the end. But on BBC Food they explain they’ve left it “fairly traditional with no coconut milk”, so tomato and stock carry the sauce instead.

Their Chicken & Egg version goes the other way, adding 50g of creamed coconut and a diced potato to the sauce. And for pumpkin and coconut together in a bowl, their pumpkin soup with scotch bonnet uses a whole can.

What’s in Caribbean curry powder, and can I make it?

Yes, there’s a homemade blend in Everyday Winners, based on 2 tbsp of coriander seeds and 2 tsp of cumin seeds. Then mustard seeds, allspice, white pepper, fenugreek, cardamom, cloves, mace, cinnamon and bay are toasted with them, ground and mixed with turmeric and onion salt.

In British Classics, they say Caribbean curry powder is “worth looking for”, because “its unique flavour adds so much to this dish”. So a medium curry powder still works, but to my mind the allspice in the marinade keeps it tasting Caribbean. And for another Caribbean classic, their jerk chicken with scotch bonnet gets its warmth from cinnamon and smoked paprika.

How hot is it?

Two seeded scotch bonnets make it properly hot, so their own tip is to use just one if you want less heat. And they warn in Chicken & Egg to wash your hands well after handling them.

I’d also serve it with plenty of steamed rice, which is how the recipe finishes, since it takes the edge off. Or for a milder everyday curry, their Punjabi chicken curry uses whole green chillies and just ½ tsp of chilli flakes.

Is there a version with potato and pineapple?

Yes, there’s a Caribbean chicken curry in their Eat to Beat Type 2 Diabetes book at 290 calories, about the same as this one. But it cuts the pumpkin to 200g and adds a large potato and 100g of pineapple, so it’s a fuller one-pot meal.

That version blends an onion into the paste and skips the marinating, then simmers the chicken for 45 minutes before adding the vegetables. So it’s on the table in under 2 hours, with no waiting.

Can I make it ahead or freeze it?

Yes, though this is my approach since the book doesn’t say: cool it within 2 hours and chill it for up to 2 days. Then reheat it once until piping hot, as the FSA advises.

If you freeze it, which is also my call, defrost it overnight in the fridge before that one reheat. But I’d expect the pumpkin to go softer, which is why I’d rather marinate the chicken the night before and cook it fresh.