Curry Chicken

Oh YEAH baby!  You ain't cookin' until you've cooked up somma dis!  Curry chicken is the one and only Jamaican dish that I can make and I make it pretty well... at least my non Jamaican friends say so.  There was ONE Jamaican who tried my curry chicken, although I don't believe he remembers it.  My father isn't a chicken fan, but he actually ate my curry chicken once... willingly!  The fact that I didn't get any complaint or suggestion on how to make it better once he finished it was a HUGE compliment even if it wasn't "memorable" to him.

Whenever I mention making curry, people fearfully ask me not to make it too hot.  In my experience, either my family never served the hot, hot, hot curry that people seem so afraid of, or I didn't eat it enough to remember it.  My guess (and I could be VERY wrong about this) is that Jamaican curry isn't as spicy hot as Indian curry.  I've tried Indian curry once.  It was a in a lentil soup I ordered at my favorite Indian restaurant in San Diego.  Although tasty, it was hard to enjoy because the spices set my mouth on fire with ever spoonful.  I've never had that issue with the curry dishes my mother and aunties made for me when I was growing up... except when they added scotch bonnet pepper to the dish; but they didn't do that specifically for curry dishes nor did they do it often (thank goodness).

My favorite thing about curry chicken is that it is SO easy to make.  I used to make it with wild rice and vegetables, since I haven't yet mastered rice and peas yet.  Garlic, onion and curry spices and a few minutes on the stove is all it takes before you can sit to a delicious and healthful meal!  Yum!