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Nigerian Chicken Gravy

Nigerian Chicken Gravy is a traditional Nigerian dish of chicken in a spicy curried gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Nigerian Chicken Gravy.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

45 minutes

Additional Time:

(+2 hours marinating)

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryChilli RecipesSpice RecipesChicken RecipesNigeria Recipes

This is what many people call Nigerian Chicken Curry, though ‘chicken gravy’ is the more common name in Nigeria. But what’s in a name? After all many will tell you that an Indian curry is about the ‘gravy’ or sauce anyway. Now, the most famous version of this dish is Liberian Chicken gravy, but it’s made in Nigeria, too. Over the Christmas season it’s often made with turkey wing pieces. A classic variation of this dish is ‘vegetable gravy’; despite the name it’s not a vegetarian dish, rather a mix of vegetables are added to this basic recipe for a heartier meal. As the curry powder is heavily turmeric-based (indeed, curry powder in Nigeria can refer to just turmeric) a good Madras-style curry powder would be a good substitute. This recipe is like a simplified pepper soup, using a thickened curry-based stock rather than pepper soup spice base.

Ingredients:

For The Chicken Marinade:
1 Tsp Nigerian Curry Powder
1 Tsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Maggi chicken granules, crumbled
Salt to taste

Main Ingredients:
10 portions of Chicken (thighs, drumsticks, half breasts, wings etc)
8 tbsp cooking oil
2 Onions, chopped
2 Scotch Bonnet chillies, Chopped
3 Garlic cloves Minced
1 tbsp ginger, Minced
1 tbsp Maggi chicken granules, crumbled
2 tbsp Nigerian Curry Powder
1 tbsp Dried Thyme or (leaves from 5 Sprigs Fresh Thyme)
1 tbsp ground Turmeric

1/2 green bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 yellow/orange bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
2 tbsp Cornflour (Cornstarch) blended with 4 tbsp water
1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix together the ingredients for the chicken marinade. Place the chicken in a large bowl, scatter over the marinade ingredients then rub into the chicken. Cover the bowl, transfer to your refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan over medium heat (a cast iron casserole is good). Add the onion, followed by the chillies, garlic, ginger, Maggi chicken granules, curry powder, thyme and turmeric. Stir to combine then cook 2 minutes.

At this point nestle in the chicken pieces and scrape over any marinade/liquid left in the bowl. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. At this point, remove the meat and set aside. Pour off about half the oil in the pot then return the chicken to the pan.

Pour in enough boiling water to just cover the chicken, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is just tender. Add the bell pepper pieces, cover and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the cornflour slurry and stir to combine with the sauce. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook for 2 minutes, or until the gravy has thickened to your liking. Adjust the seasonings (salt and black pepper) to taste and serve with plain rice.