Jamaican Curry with Mango and Coconut
It seems that more and more, my cooking style consists of a growing collection of sauces that can go with several different meat or vegetarian choices and be served over rice, another grain, noodles, or potatoes. It’s simple, and yet I find that if I master just 10 sauces that can go with 5 meat or vegetarian choices, that will be 50 different meals! Some examples of this are my Moroccan sauce that can have chicken, egg, beans, or other options over rice, millet, or toast. And a reader favorite, Ayam Kapitan – while it is traditionally served with chicken over rice, that sauce is fantastic with beef or fish and tastes great on a baked potato!
Today, I want to share another of my sauces, and this one will take your taste buds on an instant trip to a tropical island paradise! But this time, it will be Jamaica instead of our lovely home, Penang! This sauce is divine with mango, cilantro, and toasted coconut on top, but if you don’t like or can’t get any of those things, you can substitute mandarin oranges and parsley, and it will still be yummy! If you have a Jamaican curry powder blend, you can use two teaspoons of that in place of the list of spices in this recipe. If you don’t have all of the spices listed, it’s okay – just use the ones you have. It will still be delicious!
- 2 pounds chicken, fish, broccoli, cauliflower, or carrots or some combination of the above
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped or pureed in the blender
- 2 fresh red chilis, seeds and veins removed, chopped or pureed in the blender
- 1/2 tsp. allspice
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. ground mustard seed
- 1/4 tsp. ground anise seed
- 1/4 tsp. ground fenugreek seed
- 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
- 1/8 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 14-ounce can (400 mL) coconut milk
- 1 1/2 cups mango juice (the purer the better)
- Toppings
- toasted unsweetened coconut
- diced mango
- chopped cilantro
- Tabasco sauce and/or crushed red pepper
- Chop whatever you’re going to want in the sauce as well as your onion and red chilis. If you want to puree the onion and chilis, do it now.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. A cast iron dutch oven works really well for this too. Cook the onions till soft if you haven’t blended them.
- Lower the heat to medium, and add the red chilis and all the spices to the hot oil (and onions if they’re there). This is your curry paste. Cook it for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the chicken or other meat and cook until it’s mostly done. Carrots and other veggies that take a while to cook should also be added here if you want them.
- Add the broth, coconut milk, and mango juice, and bring it to a boil on high heat for about 5 minutes. Add any quick-cooking veggies, like broccoli, cauliflower, or frozen peas at this point.
- Simmer on low heat until everything is tender and cooked through.
- Serve over rice. Top generously with diced mango, chopped cilantro, and toasted unsweetened coconut. Add Tabasco sauce and/or crushed red pepper for more heat. Enjoy!
I hope you will enjoy this culinary trip to the Caribbean!