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Discover · garlic + ginger + kwanzaa + chili

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Brown Stew Chicken

Brown Stew Chicken

The Sunday-lunch counterpart to goat curry across Jamaica; not curry-driven but built on a deep mahogany gravy that gets its colour from caramelised brown sugar and a few teaspoons of bottled "browning sauce" (Grace is the canonical brand, a concentrated burnt-sugar syrup that's a kitchen staple in every Jamaican household). The chicken is bone-in, marinated overnight in a wet rub of onion, bell pepper, scallions, allspice, ginger and thyme, then browned hard and slow-braised until the meat slips off the bone. Flavour is savoury and slightly sweet with a deep thyme back-note and a whisper of Scotch bonnet heat from the whole pierced fruit in the pot. The gravy is what you actually want; thick, dark, sweet-savoury, glossy with rendered chicken fat, the kind of gravy you'd happily eat over plain rice as its own meal. Smell is browning sugar, thyme, and the unmistakable allspice signature. Patient cooking but easy: marinate the day before, then 30 minutes of active prep and 2 hours of unattended braise. The pairing with [[rice-and-peas]] is non-negotiable across Jamaican households.

Jamaican 4 hours 30 minutes Serves4
Egusi Soup

Egusi Soup

Beef or goat is parboiled with onion, stock cube and salt to make a base stock. Smoked fish hydrates in hot water and is picked clean. Egusi seeds are ground (or already-ground egusi powder is used) into a thick paste with a little water. Onion, garlic, ginger and Scotch bonnet blitz into a hot pepper paste. Palm oil heats until just smoking; the pepper paste fries in it 5 minutes. Egusi paste goes in and "fries" 10 minutes until it forms small clumps. Stock and meat join; everything simmers for 20 minutes. Smoked fish, ground crayfish and locust beans add depth. Chopped spinach (or bitter leaf) goes in for the last 5 minutes. Salt to season.

Nigerian 1 hour 40 minutes Serves6
Jamaican Goat Curry

Jamaican Goat Curry

A deep, brick-yellow gravy stained with turmeric and allspice (called pimento in Jamaica, confusingly, nothing to do with the pepper of the same English name). The taste is layered: the curry powder hits first, then the slow heat of Scotch bonnet, then a sweet-piney back-note from allspice and thyme that's unmistakably Caribbean rather than Indian. The goat is the point; bone-in shoulder or leg, braised until the bones loosen and the connective tissue melts into the gravy and gives it body without any flour or roux. Patient cooking but not difficult: brown the meat, bloom the curry powder until it darkens to brown, then leave it alone for two hours. The whole pierced Scotch bonnet sits in the pot scenting the gravy and is fished out before it ruptures, so the heat stays controllable. Came to Jamaica via Indian indentured labourers in the 1840s, then got reshaped by what the island already had: thyme, pimento, scotch bonnet, and the Saturday-evening habit of putting a pot on to braise for Sunday lunch. Day-2 goat curry is better than day-1, which is why every Jamaican grandmother starts it on a Saturday.

Jamaican 4 hours 55 minutes Serves4-6
Jerk Chicken

Jerk Chicken

A wet jerk paste: scotch bonnet chillies, garlic, ginger, spring onions, thyme, allspice (whole or ground), brown sugar, soy sauce, lime, oil, salt and pepper, pureed in a blender. The chicken (bone-in skin-on thighs and drumsticks, or spatchcocked whole bird) marinates for 12 hours minimum. Slow-grilled over indirect heat with a pile of pimento wood chips or allspice berries on the coals for the signature smoke; alternatively, an oven-bake at 180°C with a final blast under the grill, supplemented with allspice in the marinade.

Jamaican 13 hours 5 minutes Serves4
Jollof Rice with Chicken

Jollof Rice with Chicken

Chicken pieces simmer with onion, thyme, curry powder, salt and bay until tender; the cooking stock becomes the rice's liquid. A blender purées tomatoes, red peppers, scotch bonnets, onion, and ginger to a smooth red sauce. Vegetable oil cooks tomato paste until it darkens; the blended sauce reduces in for 15-20 minutes; bay leaves and curry powder bloom; the rice goes in with chicken stock, simmers covered until tender. The chicken roasts crispy under a hot grill, then perches on top.*

Nigerian 1 hour 40 minutes Serves6