Chicken colombo
Our version of chicken colombo: a paste of toasted ground spices, marinated chicken, vegetables simmered with Madagascar turmeric, curry and ginger.
- Prep 30 min
- Cooking 50 min
- Total 80 min
- Serves 4 servings
- Difficulty Medium
Colombo is a slow-simmered dish from the Caribbean, born from the meeting of spices brought by Indian labourers and vegetables from the Creole garden. Here is our version, built around a paste of toasted spices ground in a mortar, with the turmeric, curry and ginger our family grows and prepares in Vangaindrano, in south-eastern Madagascar.
The chicken simmers for a long time with root vegetables, in a covered pot, until the sauce thickens and the meat falls easily off the bone.
Preparation
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In a dry pan, toast the cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Leave to cool then grind them in a mortar.
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Mix this powder with the turmeric, curry, ginger and black pepper: this is the colombo paste.
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Cut the chicken into pieces. Coat it with half the spice paste, the crushed garlic and the juice of one lime. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator, overnight if possible.
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Peel and slice the onions. In a casserole dish, sauté them in the oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the marinated chicken and brown it on all sides.
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Cut the potatoes and aubergine into large pieces. Add them to the casserole dish with the rest of the spice paste and the salt. Cover with water to the level of the ingredients, cover the casserole dish and leave to simmer over low heat for 35 minutes.
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Cut the courgette into pieces and add it to the casserole dish. Continue cooking covered for 15 minutes, until the vegetables and chicken are tender.
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Off the heat, add the juice of the second lime, adjust the seasoning and serve with white rice.
The little extra that changes everything
Dry-toasting whole spices just before grinding them changes the result a great deal: do not leave them on the heat for more than a minute or two, stirring constantly, as they burn quickly and turn bitter. To add heat to this colombo, a small dried Vanille Désiré pili-pili chilli crumbled in with the toasted spices adds a kick, to adjust to taste. Other ways to spice poultry are gathered in which spices to use with poultry. Another spiced simmered chicken: Malagasy-style chicken carry. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar curry, Madagascar turmeric, Madagascar ginger, Madagascar black pepper
