Chicken for dinner just got interesting!!! East meets west in this delicious Caribbean Curry Chicken Roti. Succulent chicken thighs infused with all of the tastes of the Caribbean wrapped in a savory slightly crispy shell will bring the Caribbean to your kitchen, for sure. This super easy recipe has climbed to the top of my list of “go to” dinners. Who knew chicken thighs and potatoes could taste so posh?
As I type this post, my skin is still glowing from the glorious Caribbean sun and my spice cabinet more than 2000 miles away in the Smokey Mountains has been freshly restocked with as many local spices & sauces I could get my hands on. This year was the best trip yet because we got to explore 6 different ports in the Southern Caribbean. Along the way, we picked up Caribbean Curry, Colombo, Perri Perri, chili powder, fresh nutmeg (12 FOR ONLY FIVE DOLLARS!), Bajan seasonings (now I’m wondering how I only ended up with one jar🤔), and a ton of amazing sauces. One of our favorite stops, St. Lucia, is where we ate the inspiration behind this post.
One of our favorite things to do when we travel is to hire a driver or guide and go off exploring on our own. We always seem to find the perfect person and by the end of the day we’ve found a new friend. Our amazing guide in St. Lucia was Javan. He treated us like long lost friends while he took us to all of the spots the locals visit. We got up close and personal with a spectacular island in a way few tourists get to experience. Like a local. As you guys already know, we are foodies. In each new place we visit, we find what the local “go-to” food is and we set off on a mission to taste test something new. And most importantly, we find out where the locals eat and we go there. These days have been the very best of all the days we’ve traveled and St. Lucia stands out as one of the best days yet!
Javan took us to one of his favorite lunch stops. Skippers in Soufriere, St. Lucia is an open air restaurant with a few tables, a friendly staff, and amazing food. He ordered our lunch for us “Chicken Roti Local Style”. They rolled the chicken curry in a freshly made roti (West Indies tortilla) and wrapped it in foil. They wrapped a paper towel around the foil and rolled it all into a small brown paper bag. The foil is peeled back as you eat the roti making the perfect spot to catch anything that falls. If anything gets past the foil, it will surely be caught in the paper bag. Genius! 🤯
FOLKS– THIS is the way to eat a burrito in the car. I will definitely remember this serving hack for future on the go burritos! With our hot chicken roti’s in hand, we hopped in the back of the car because we had to make it back to the port before the boat left us. (Although, I wouldn’t have been too disappointed to spend more time exploring. Maybe one day…) But, I want you to know that we NEVER dropped a drip on ourselves or the car! This is a feat in itself at home with any burrito. This is even more impressive because we were winding up and down mountains and though the rainforest on our way back to the port.
We live in the mountains and appreciate the skills it takes to navigate winding mountain roads. Javan grew up in these mountains and knows the roads like the back of his hand which is obvious in this video clip from our ride back to the port after an amazing day of sightseeing, mud baths, and exploring beautiful St. Lucia. Well done Javan!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
What a great way to celebrate our anniversary!
Print Recipe
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Print Recipe
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| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 8-10Roti | 20Minutes | 30-45Minutes | 2-4Hours |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 8-10Roti | 20Minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 30-45Minutes | 2-4Hours |
- 3 Pounds boneless chicken thighs Chopped into one inch pieces
- 4 Medium white potatoes Cubed into one inch squares
- 2 Large red onions Diced
- 4 Fresh Roma tomatoes Diced
- 5 Dried bay leaves
- 4 Tablespoons Dried Caribbean Curry
- 2 Tablespoons chicken season OR 1 chicken bouillon
- 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger- grated Can be subbed with dried
- 1-3 Bulbs fresh garlic Minced
- 1 Teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 Tablespoon dried chili powder
- 1 Teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 Teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 Teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 Tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 Tablespoon dried Perri Perri seasons
- 1 Tablespoon dried Colombo
- 1 Tablespoon Himalayan sea salt Divided
- 1/4 Cup coconut oil
- 1 Stick real butter I used a great herb butter compound I like to make
- 1 Package Roti shells I used burrito shells the first time I made this and it turned out great!
- Garnish
- Greek yogurt, sour cream, avocado, & hot sauce If you can find Bajan hot sauce, it’s perfect with the flavor combination of this dish.
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Ingredients
Servings: Roti
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- Add chicken, garlic, and all of the seasonings to a bowl. Stir making sure everything is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
- Heat coconut oil and bay leaves in a large skillet over medium high heat
- When the edges of the bay leaves have started to brown, add chicken mixture to hot skillet. Set timer for 10 minutes.
- Allow to cook for 2 minutes before stirring so that you get a nice sear on the edges.
- When you’ve cooked the chicken for 8 minutes, add the chopped onions. Whenever your ten mi utes is up, stir the onions into the chicken curry mixture. Reduce heat to medium and stir well.
- Add potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes and set the timer for 10 more minutes. Tomatoes will cook into sauce if you mash them with the back of your spatula. When it’s finished, you’ll not be able to see the tomatoes and the potato will be tender.
- Add a tab of butter to a hot nonstick pan. I used a wok and it worked perfectly. Cook tortilla on high heat for about a minute, making sure to get butter evenly on one side of the tortilla. You want the tortilla soft enough to easily fold but not too cooked that it starts to get crispy before you have rolled the curry into the middle
- Without flipping the tortilla, remove the pan from the heat and add 4 to 5 tablespoons of the curry chicken filling to the center of the tortilla shell. Roll the roti by first folding in one long side, then both ends, and closing it with the last long side rolled to close your burrito.
- Add pan back to the heat and sear for a few seconds on each side. You want it to have a nice crunch along the edges but the burrito shell will be mostly soft.
- Serve hot with Greek yogurt or sour cream and a really good hot sauce. If you can find anything with scotch bonnets in it, choose that one for this dish.
- Meal prep tip- I like to make these in advance to store in the freezer so that all I have to do is quickly warm them up in the microwave and finish with a quick sear on the edges in the skillet.
I mean... Come ON!!! Just look at that roti! The shell is soft with a nice crisp around the edges and the insides are filled with smokey spicy chicken. Chicken has never been so much fun for dinner!
First things first... What is curry? I’m betting you could ask 5 different chefs from different regions and you would get 5 different answers. Basically, a curry is a mixture of seasonings and spices that is different depending on the type of food being prepared. Chinese curry has a lot of lemongrass and ginger while Indian curry uses mango powder and turmeric. Jamaican curry has more peppers and adds in sweeter spices like cloves and nutmeg. Caribbean curry is a mixture of them all which makes it, in my opinion, the best of all in the curry world.
Check out this haul we brought back this year! The prices can’t be beat and the freshness is unlike any I’ve been able to find at even the higher end grocery stores. There are several different types of curry in this picture. There are three different curry powders each with its own blend of spices all these fresh spices have my whole kitchen smelling like an international market. If you can’t find all the spices on my ingredient list, no worries! Find what you can and hunt out a few of your own. You really can’t go wrong so get creative. When in doubt, let your nose be your guide. If it smells good, it will taste good.
Here is how to make Caribbean Curry Chicken Roti...
Add chicken, garlic, and all of the seasonings to a bowl. Stir making sure everything is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
Heat coconut oil and bay leaves in a large skillet over medium high heat
When the edges of the bay leaves have started to brown, add chicken mixture to hot skillet. Set timer for 10 minutes.
Allow to cook for 2 minutes before stirring so that you get a nice sear on the edges.
When you’ve cooked the chicken for 8 minutes, add the chopped onions. Whenever your ten minutes is up, stir the onions into the chicken curry mixture. Reduce heat to medium and stir well.
Add potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes and set the timer for 10 more minutes. Tomatoes will cook into sauce if you mash them with the back of your spatula. When it’s finished, you’ll not be able to see the tomatoes and the potato will be tender.
Wish I could get a scratch and sniff app to add to my blog because you have got to smell this stuff!! Your finished product won’t me too juicy but sholdn’t be dry either. Add a bit of chicken stock or water if you think it’s getting too dry. I didn’t have to add any until I warmed up the left overs. Let your chicken curry rest while you get the roti ready.
Ok - I was so eager to share this recipe with you that I used store bought burrito shells instead of making my own roti. When I make this dish again next week, I will be trying out a few different ideas I’ve got for homemade roti. I’ll be sure to update this post when I’ve hacked the perfect roti recipe. Until then, large store bought burrito shells worked quite nicely. I wanted the fresh taste of hot tortillas so I decided to make these a kinda chimichanga burrito hybrid. They are Start by adding a tab of butter to a hot nonstick pan. I used a wok and it worked perfectly.
Coat one side of the tortilla with the melted butter and cook on high heat until tortilla is soft but not yet getting crispy. Apx 1 minute.
Without flipping the tortilla, remove the pan from the heat and add 4 to 5 tablespoons of the curry chicken filling to the center of the tortilla shell. Roll the roti by first folding in one long side, then both ends, and closing it with the last long side rolled to close your burrito.
Add pan back to the heat and sear for a few seconds on each side. Rotate roti to sear each side
You want it to have a nice crunch along the edges but the burrito shell will be mostly soft.
Serve hot with Greek yogurt or sour cream and a really good hot sauce. If you can find anything with scotch bonnets in it, choose that one for this dish.
Meal prep tip- I like to make these in advance to store in the freezer so that all I have to do is quickly warm them up in the microwave and finish with a quick sear on the edges in the skillet.
I literally can not freakin wait until you try this dish! When you do, id love to hear what you think. Leave me a comment here and tag me on your social media post so I can see your finished Caribbean Curry Chicken Roti.
Enjoy!!
