Curry Fried Chicken

Name: Curry Fried Chicken
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds; 1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds; 1⁄2 Tbsp Pimento Berries; 1⁄2 Tbsp Fenugreek Seeds; 1 Tsp Cloves; 1 Tsp Paprika; 2 Tbsp Ground Turmeric; 6 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs; 2 Tbsp Jamaican Curry Powder; 3 Garlic Cloves; Thumb-Sized Piece Of Ginger; 3 Thyme Sprigs; 1½ Tsp Salt; 150ml Coconut Milk; Vegetable Oil; Freshly Ground Black Pepper; 100g Potato Starch/Flour, Or Plain Flour; 100g Fine Cornmeal; 1 Tsp Sea Salt; 1 tsp Ground Ginger; 1 tsp Ground Cumin; 1 Tsp Ground Turmeric; 4 Tbsp Shop-Bought Mayonnaise; 1 Lime; 1⁄4 Scotch Bonnet, Finely Chopped; 1 Scotch bonnet, Sliced Widthways Into Rings Rice; Coco Bread

4.5

Notes

45 mins cook

We had Melissa Thompson make her Curry Fried Chicken from her new book Motherland and it was all the things we love. Big flavours. Incredible textures.

Melissa Thompson

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Serves

For The Jamaican Curry Powder:

Coriander Seed

Cumin Seed

Pimento Berry

Fenugreek Seed

Clove

Paprika

Ground Turmeric

For The Chicken:

Skinless Chicken Thighs

Jamaican Curry Powder

Garlic

Ginger

Thyme

Salt

Coconut Milk

Vegetable Oil

Ground Pepper

For The Coating:

Potato Starch

Fine Cornmeal

Sea Salt

Ground Ginger

Ground Cumin

Ground Turmeric

For The Chilli And Lime Mayo:

Mayonnaise

Lime

Scotch Bonnet

To serve (all optional):

Scotch Bonnet

Coco Bread

Melissa Thompson

Melissa is a writer, broadcaster and author of Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook. She cooks a lot over fire, and writes recipes for a host of publications.

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Serves

For The Jamaican Curry Powder:

Coriander Seed

Cumin Seed

Pimento Berry

Fenugreek Seed

Clove

Paprika

Ground Turmeric

For The Chicken:

Skinless Chicken Thighs

Jamaican Curry Powder

Garlic

Ginger

Thyme

Salt

Coconut Milk

Vegetable Oil

Ground Pepper

For The Coating:

Potato Starch

Fine Cornmeal

Sea Salt

Ground Ginger

Ground Cumin

Ground Turmeric

For The Chilli And Lime Mayo:

Mayonnaise

Lime

Scotch Bonnet

To serve (all optional):

Scotch Bonnet

Coco Bread

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Mix all the spices together and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Shake before use, remove as much as you need, then grind it to a powder. Keeping the spices whole will help it to remain fresh and aromatic.

Cut each thigh into 2-3 pieces, each about 4cm big. Put the pieces in a bowl with the curry powder and mix well. Add the garlic, ginger, thyme, salt and a pinch of pepper and mix well, then add the coconut milk and mix to coat completely. Cover and marinate for at least 4 hours in the fridge, but ideally overnight.

To make the coating, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt and spices in a bowl. remove the chicken from the marinade, scraping off any big bits but otherwise leaving everything where it is, and place in the flour mix.

Turn the pieces over and press down, ensuring every nook and cranny is exposed to the flour. Remove and rest on a plate for at least 5 minutes, giving the starch enough time to adhere the chicken.

Mix together all the ingredients for the mayo in a small bowl.

Set up a wire rack over a tray lined with kitchen paper. Following all the usual precautions for deep-frying, pour enough oil into a saucepan to lie at least 10cm deep. Heat it to about 140°C. If you don't have a thermometer, a sprinkling of flour should sizzle gently a few seconds after being dropped into it.

Place a few pieces of chicken into the oil, making sure you don't crowd them. Fry for 3-4 minutes, until they start to colour, then remove with a slotted spoon to the wire rack. Continue until every piece has had its first fry.

Now increase the oil temperate to 180°C or until a pinch of flour sizzles almost immediately on contact with the oil.

Add the chicken pieces, starting with those that went first into the oil before. Fry for a further 2 minutes or until they have turned a deeper golden brown and are crisp. Remove and drain on the rack, continuing until all pieces have been fried twice.

Fry the scotch bonnet rings for a minute or so, then drain on the rack.

Serve the chicken with a sprinkling of fried chilli on top and the chilli and lime mayo for dipping.

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Melissa Thompson

Melissa is a writer, broadcaster and author of Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook. She cooks a lot over fire, and writes recipes for a host of publications.

View Chef profile

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Melissa Thompson

Melissa is a writer, broadcaster and author of Motherland: A Jamaican Cookbook. She cooks a lot over fire, and writes recipes for a host of publications.

View Chef profile

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Curry Fried Chicken

Melissa Thompson

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Melissa Thompson

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Step 1. For The Jamaican Curry Powder:

Step 2.

For The Chicken:

Step 3.

Step 4.

Step 5.

Step 6.

Step 7.

Step 8.

Step 9.

Step 10.

Step 11.

Step 12.

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Melissa Thompson

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Melissa Thompson

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