Trinidadian Curried Chicken Rôti

Did you have pancakes on Tuesday? Pancakes are traditionally served on shrove Tuesday, not sure why but because we love the ‘cakes of pan’ we had these beauties for dinner Tuesday night. Thank you Sissi.

In early February, mid-February, late-February and now early March, we have been going through a bit of a deep chill which always makes us crave hearty, spicy foods. We invited my nephew, niece and her beau to dinner last month and I wanted to serve something new, for them and for me (I’ve never made this before!) so I turned to the hearty West Indian Rôti, always comforting with it’s warm flavours and great textures.

I chose Chef Marcus Samuelson’s Trinidadian Chicken Roti recipe, with some very minor alterations. I also used this recipe* for my Jamaican Curry powder; I actually liked the second one because I was able to make as much or as little as needed — I used 1 teaspoon as my single measure for the ratios which made more than enough for 4 tablespoons! You may also buy Jamaican Curry Spice ready made from the store.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from omitting the chicken and using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this entirely vegetarian, you can even add tofu but the chickpeas are likely filling enough.

Below is the calorie count for one of the Rôti’s served at our favourite takeout place.  After the success of this recipe, I suspect that rôti will not be bought take out ever again! For the record, I always cut my rôti in half and shared it with someone else!

Calories: 1,013 YIKES!
Fat: 43 grams DOUBLE YIKES!
Sodium: 1,617 milligrams OMG!
Carbohydrates: 106 grams
Protein: 51 grams

A perfectly seasoned and slightly spicy Chicken, chickpea and kale roti

Trinidadian Chicken Rôti

Makes 8 servings. Please see Chef Marcus Samuelson’s original recipe here. Make the curry a day in advance because it will taste better!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried sprouted chickpeas**, rehydrated over night (or low sodium can of cooked chickpeas)
• 3+ cups chicken stock
• Quick spray of non-stick spray
• 1 large red onion, finely sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 medium Chinese egg plant, cubed
• 2 generous cups kale, chopped
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 4 tbsp Jamaican curry powder*
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• salt, to taste
• 800 g chicken breasts, no bone, no skin, cut into even chunks
• 1/4 cup white wine

Directions:

1. Add the sprouted chickpeas and stock to a slow cooker and set on high for 4 hours.
2. Spray a large dutch oven with non-stick spray and sweat the onions until translucent on medium heat.
3. Add the garlic, eggplant and kale and sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the Jamaican curry powder, cumin and salt and pepper and stir until fragrant. Add the vinegar and give it a good stir. Using a silicon spatula, scrap this mixture into the slow cooker and give it a good stir. Cook on high for 4-6 hours.
4. About 1 hour before serving, reheat the dutch oven and sear the chicken pieces in the spice laden dutch oven. Add the chicken to the curry in the Dutch oven. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add to the curry.
5. Give the curry a good stir and reset the timer and heat to Low for 1 additional hour.
6. You may need to add a bit more more stock if the curry is too thick because you want a lot of gravy.
7. Serve with Roti bread.

Delicious!

** I tried sprouting my chickpeas for the first time on my friend Norma’s suggestion, not sure it made much of a difference the taste but it was fun to do.

Nutrional Facts for the Curry

Nutrional Facts for the Roti Bread