Roti Kip - Surinamese Chicken Curry

Suriname is said to be a melting pot of races, cultures, languages and cuisines.

You have the original indigenous people - the Amerindian tribes of Arawaks, Caribs, Tiryos amongst others; then you have the descendants of African slaves, the town blacks or "foto nengre" and those of mixed race - the Creoles; then you have the descendants of the runaway African slaves who escaped the plantations into the vast dense jungle - the Marrons; then you have the indentured workers from other former colonies brought in to work on the plantations when slavery was abolished in 1863 - the Javans and other Indonesians; then you have the Jewish-Portuguese, who were some of the first plantation owners in Suriname; the Chinese immigrants, and then you have the whites, the Dutch, "bakras" or "boeroes".


The group that I have not yet mentioned, the Hindoestanis or East Indians, make up the single largest ethnic group in Suriname, with approximately 28% of the population as of 2012. The ancestors of this group came to Suriname in much the same way that the Javanese did, as workers on the plantations after the abolition of slavery. They brought with them from India their culture, religion, language and cuisine. Popular Hindoestani dishes include roti, bara, phulauri.

When we think of Indian cuisine, we first think of curries, spices, flatbreads. One of the most popular Hindoestani dishes in Suriname is Roti Kip, which is a large flat pancake type bread with chicken, potatoes and vegetables. Roti is the name of the bread, which can be either plain, filled with ground split peas, or potato. Making roti is a skill in itself, and requires a large round griddle pan or a traditional tawa for cooking the breads. In another recipe I may show you how to make these roti pancakes, but most people buy ready-made rotis from tokos and other ethnic stores. They come in packs of 3 and just need to be heated up. Most shop-bought rotis are filled with ground split peas or dhalpuri, although it is possible to get the potato filled rotis (aloo-puri).

Today we will concentrate on the chicken curry that accompanies the roti pancakes.

Ingredients

3 large chicken legs

1 large onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 tomato or 1 tsp tomato puree

2 Tb Massala*

100 ml water

4 potatoes

4 hard boiled eggs

2 Maggi stock cubes

sunflower oil to fry

salt and black pepper to taste

*Massala is a special Hindoestans spice mix that is similar to curry powder but spicier.  It contains a blend of spices usually including coriander, turmeric, kumin, fenegreek, mustard seeds, ginger powder and nigella seeds.

Method

Remove the skin from the chicken and clean thoroughly (in vinegar or lemon juice is normal in Suriname). Cut each leg into 3 pieces. Fry the chicken pieces in a large heavy-bottomed pan in a little oil for about 10 minutes. 

Peel and finely slice the onion and garlic cloves. Add these to the chicken and continue frying. Chop the tomato into small pieces and add this to the pan as well. Add the massala and the maggi cubes and the water and place the lid on the pan. 

Peel the potatoes and cut into pieces (half them for medium sized potatoes, or in more pieces for larger potatoes). Add these to the pot and add more water if required. The potatoes should be submerged in the water so that they can cook properly. Add salt and pepper and leave to cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. As the potatoes break up they will also serve to thicken the sauce nicely.

In the mean time boil the eggs in a pan with water. They should be hard boiled so it is best to boil them for 8-10 minutes to make sure they are completely hard. Peel the eggs and add them to the pan with the chicken and potatoes, and mix through until they are covered with the sauce.

Roti is usually eaten with kouseband or yard long beans, which are cut up small and fried with a little onion and a Maggi block. If you can't find yard long beans, you can use string beans or green beans.

It is traditional to eat roti with your hands (so make sure you wash them first!). Open up the roti pancake on a plate, add some chicken, potato and a boiled egg with some sauce. Finish off with some of the fried kouseband and you are ready to go!

Kripyā bhojan kā ānnaṅd lijīyai! Enjoy your meal!