Chicken Colombo is a Creole curry brought to Martinique and Guadeloupe by indentured labourers from India who worked sugar plantations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Colombo is a mixture of various spices, including coriander, cumin, yellow mustard seeds, fenugreek, fennel, pepper, turmeric and allspice.
Ingredients for Chicken Colombo:
- 8 chicken drumsticks (or you can use chicken breast)
- 40 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 5 spring onions
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 large potato
- 1 lime
For the spice mix:
- 1 onion
- 3 spring onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon coriander, ground
- 1 chilli pepper, pitted
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 5 cloves
- 4 tablespoon turmeric
- Salt and black pepper
Colombo Preparation:
1. Peel the skin off the chicken drumsticks. Fry in hot oil on all sides for fifteen to twenty minutes, until the meat, has turned a nice light brown colour. Take out of the pan and set aside.
2. In the remaining fat, sauté the cumin, chopped onions and garlic for about 5 minutes, stirring vigorously. Return the chicken legs and mix everything well.
3. Add a glass of water to the ingredients for the massalé mixture and puree everything with the hand blender. Pour the massalé over the chicken legs and let it simmer covered for a quarter of an hour.
4. Peel and dice the potatoes. Add to the chicken thighs and simmer for about ten minutes until they are cooked. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper.
5. Serve with Rice.