Guyanese Chicken Curry

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 lb / 1.8 kg), bone-in, skin off, cut into 5–8 cm pieces (dark meat)
• Chicken breast: the breast pieces of the same chicken
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (marinade)
• 2 sprigs thyme, leaves (marinade)
• 2 tbsp curry powder (marinade)
• 2 tsp garam masala (marinade)
• 1 wiri wiri pepper (or ½ scotch bonnet), finely sliced (marinade)
• 1½ tsp kosher salt (marinade)
• 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 tsp grapeseed or vegetable oil (marinade)
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 5 sprigs thyme, leaves
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp geera (ground roasted cumin)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 3 scallions, finely sliced
• 2 wiri wiri peppers (or 1 scotch bonnet), finely sliced
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp grapeseed or vegetable oil
• 1 large potato, cut into 3–5 cm pieces
• 1½ cups water for the gravy (plus splashes of hot water to deglaze, cooked off)
• 2 scallions, sliced, to garnish

Method

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

1. Toss the chicken with the marinade ingredients: oil, garlic, thyme, wiri wiri pepper, salt, black pepper, curry powder and garam masala. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight. 0:12
2. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a karahi or large pot over medium heat and soften the onion with a pinch of the salt. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. 2:04
3. Stir in the curry powder, garam masala, geera, turmeric, scallions and wiri wiri peppers. Cook on low-medium heat for 10–15 minutes, adding a splash of hot water and scraping the bottom whenever it gets dry, so nothing burns. 2:39
4. Add the chicken and toss well. Cover and cook for 20–30 minutes, stirring now and then; uncover once the juices run out and cook them down, scraping up the browned bits. 4:18
5. Add the potato and 1½ cups water, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the potato is tender and the gravy has thickened. Adjust the salt and scatter over the scallions. 6:03

Tip. Serves 6 (our estimate). Chef Dev serves it on boiled chow mein noodles with a quick salted cabbage, carrot and parsley slaw. For bunjal (dry) curry, add just a splash of water and cook it right down.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.