Bring a bit of Mauritius into your house with my tasty Mauritian Chicken Curry. Delicious and simple to make; cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated.
A trip to Mauritius
Until a few months ago, I used to work in travel. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to go on a work trip to Mauritius. These work trips were as great as they sound.
We’d get to go abroad for around a week to experience a country and visit hotels so we could make better recommendations for our clients. They heavily involved being wined and dined and a fair amount of time to experience the hotel relax.
As part of this trip to Mauritius, we had some free time to explore the capital, Port Louis. I obviously found myself at the food and spices market.
When I was buying some vanilla pods, the trader gave me a piece of paper with a couple of recipes on. One of them was for a Mauritian Curry.
What took me so long to make my own version of a Mauritian Chicken Curry?
I loved the idea of making my own version of an authentic Mauritian curry, but there was one ingredient stopping me. The recipe that I was given used roasted coconut. I don’t like coconut.
It wasn’t until I made a delicious beef rendang a week or so ago that used coconut milk that made me realise with the rest of the spices you couldn’t pick out a specific coconut taste.
I decided that the next recipe I developed had to be a Mauritian Chicken Curry that I had been scared of for the last two years! Instead of using roasted coconut I would just use coconut milk instead.
Mauritius’ unique and mixed food culture
Mauritius was colonised by the Dutch, French and British which saw an influx of slaves and immigrants from Africa, India and the Far East. All of these influences have given Mauritius a unique and delicious cuisine.
I was able to get the basics from the recipe I was given; chicken, curry powder, cinnamon and chilli. But it wasn’t written in the clearest English.
This gave me the perfect opportunity to get creative and come up with my own interpretation.
How spicy do you want your Mauritian Chicken Curry?
This recipe is deliberately easy to adapt the spice level. If you would prefer to keep it mild, leave out the red chilli altogether. If you like a bit of spice add up to two chillies.
Obviously chillies vary in heat but generally speaking the smaller chilli the hotter it will be.
What to serve with this Mauritian Chicken Curry
I like to serve this with some simple Basmati rice. It would also be delicious with some chapatis. I can also personally recommend accompanying this with an ice cold beer. I would be rude not to would it!
Other recipes you might like
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine
- Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry
- Vegetable & Red Lentil Curry
- Spicy Korean Pork Stew
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Mauritian Chicken Curry
Bring a bit of Mauritius into your house with my tasty Mauritian Chicken Curry. Delicious and simple to make; cooking from scratch doesn't have to be complicated.
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken thighs boneless & skin removed
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger peeled
- 1 red chilli
- ½ tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp garam masala powder
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp mild curry powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 400 g tinned tomatoes
- 400 ml light coconut milk
- 3 Kaffir lime leaves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 tomatoes large
- 250 ml water
Instructions
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Remove any fat from the chicken thighs and cut them into large chunks. Set to one side
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Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli to a food processor and mix until finely chopped
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Heat the oil in a large pan before adding the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened
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Add the garam masala, mild chilli powder and ground coriander and stir until completely mixed. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often
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Add the chopped chicken and cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is opaque
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Add the chopped fresh tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, light coconut milk and water. Add the cinnamon stick and Kaffir lime leaves before bringing to the boil
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Cook uncovered for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Make sure you stir every ten minutes or so to prevent sticking
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Remove the cinnamon stick and Kaffir lime leaves before serving with rice
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is given as a guide only.
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says
This dish sounds so tasty. I would love to enjoy this with rice. 😀 Thanks for sharing, Cat. x
Curly says
Thanks Jhuls, it’s really tasty with rice 🙂 x
Vicki Montague says
Oh my goodness, this looks soooo good! I would love to go to Mauritius. How fab that you got to go there for work. Thank you for sharing the recipe and hosting #cookblogshare this week.
Donna says
Oh yum, I love making curry and this sounds yummy, and a little bit different!
Claire Thomas says
I don’t think I’ve had Mauritian food, though I hope to visit some time soon. This is on my list to make!
Curly says
If you do get the chance to go I really would recommend it 🙂
Hannah says
This looks absolutely incredible! I’ve never tried Mauritian food before but I have to look for some more Mauritian recipes to try now I’ve seen how good this looks!
Curly says
Thank you Hannah 🙂
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
What a delicious looking curry! I eat a lot of Indian and Thai curries, but I’ve never eaten a Mauritian one before – I think I need to branch out! Eb x
Ally says
A mild but very yummy curry! Was enjoyed by us both and will make it again!
Janice Pattie says
What a delicious recipe and easy to make too.
Curly says
Thank you 🙂
Alex says
Hello… Whilst I love you that you went out of your comfort zone to make this curry, I am sorry to say this is not authentic at all. I am Mauritian of Tamil descent. We are known on the island to make the best curries. Any Mauritian would tell you that a true chicken curry doesn’t have any coconut at all. Neither coconut milk nor grated coconut as a base. We do not use a whole can of tomatoes either. We would probably put four chopped or crushed small tomatoes with 3-4 tablespoons of curry powder with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, chopped onions for the base. Then add chicken and water afterwards and let it simmer. Garnish with coriander leaves. And the type of tomatoes we use are smaller… They are called love apples and they look a lot like San Marzanos. The curry is more sour and spicy than tomatoey and sweet and there is certainly no cinnamon. Cheers.
Curly says
Hi Alex, that is very interesting to hear. The recipe I based my interpretation on was given to me by a man in spice market at Port Louis. Maybe it was a recipe from where he lived/grew up. Like I said this is just my interpretation which I believe is inspired by some of the delicious flavours I experienced on my trip. Love apples sound very cute. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Diane says
Made this last night and it was delicious! My husband really liked it as well. We were thinking adding peanuts to it would also be good
Curly says
So pleased you liked it Diane. Peanuts would add a lovely crunch!
Marion Roberts says
This recipe is my first adventure in curries. I love it and will try more. I have been making a naan type naan with my sourdough starter. Mild and excellent. Thanks.
Curly says
So pleased you like it Marion!