Chicken and Pilau
An Illustrated Recipe
Hello everyone,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Yesterday’s Curry. Thank you so much for reading!
For those of you that are new here, I have introduced a couple of resources to make my newsletter more inclusive. Firstly, we have a rapidly growing facebook community and if you aren’t already part of my group you can join here:
I am also welcoming submissions and ideas for future newsletters; this can be a feature, an interview, a recipe, a tradition - anything related to Goa or the wider Indian diaspora. This is accessible for paid members to help shape the future of the newsletter, so please leave a comment if you’re interested in contributing!
Today I will be sharing one of my Grandmother’s recipes, “Chicken and Pilau”. This recipe has really stood the test of time and is a firm favourite amongst everyone in my family. This isn’t a traditional curry in the sense that it is very light on the spice (only a teaspoon in fact). The pungent mix which is probably most similar to a Goan Jeerem Meerem (pronounced Jeery Meery) or a Mangalorean Bafat Masala is used sparingly as a little goes a long way. However, it is still incredibly distinctive and you know it’s there without being overpowered by it.
I’ve been eating this recipe since I can remember; in fact I can even remember scraping it around the plate when I was a child because I hated curries and just wanted to eat McDonald’s; a lot has changed since then! Whenever my cousins visit, this is the dish they look forward to, and it has even become my Irish Father’s signature dish, as he was taught it by my Mum and Grandma to broaden his cooking skills.
The prawn pilau is essential with this chicken recipe, it just isn’t the same with plain white rice, and of course, like all curries it is best made ahead of time and then warmed up for the flavours to really merge with each other. So without further ado; chicken and pilau:
First thing’s first, you need to make your spice blend.
In a cast iron or frying pan, heat the whole spices (cassia bark, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cloves and cumin seeds) on a low heat for a couple of minutes to bring out the aroma. Be careful not to burn them and shake the pan to move them around a bit. If you can’t find cassia in the supermarket, cinnamon sticks are fine.
Transfer the spices to a plate to cool down completely before blending.
In a coffee grinder, small blender, or pestle and mortar, grind the spices until coarse to break down the larger pieces of cassia/cinnamon.
Add the turmeric and Kashmiri chilli, and continue to grind until the mixture is finely ground. Set aside to use in the curry. You will only need 1 teaspoon so store the rest in an airtight container for next time.