Mauritian Chicken Curry (Cari Poulet): The Authentic Recipe

In Mauritius, chicken curry — cari poulet — is the Sunday dish above all others: the one that gathers the whole family around a big pot, with rice, grains and a good rougail. Every family has its own version, handed down through generations, but the fundamentals never change: well-seared chicken, curry powder roussi in hot oil, soft potatoes and a sauce that fills the whole house with its aroma.

Here is the authentic Mauritian chicken curry, the one with potatoes, explained step by step for 4 people. And above all, the ingredient that makes all the difference: the chicken.

The ingredients (for 4)

• 1 free-range chicken (~1.5 kg), cut into pieces
• 3 to 4 potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 onions, sliced
• A crushed garlic-and-ginger paste (a generous tablespoon of each)
• 2 to 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tbsp curry powder (chicken massala)
• A few caripoulé (curry leaves)
• 1 sprig of thyme
• A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• Oil, salt

The recipe, step by step

1. The onions. Heat a little oil in a pot and fry the sliced onions until golden. Add the garlic-and-ginger paste, the caripoulé (curry leaves) and the thyme, then let it become fragrant for a minute.
2. Roussir the curry. Loosen the curry powder with a little water to make a paste, add it to the hot oil and cook over medium heat, stirring. This step — roussir (searing the curry powder in hot oil) — is what wakes up the spices: the oil should colour and smell wonderful, but never burn.
3. The chicken. Add the chicken pieces. Coat them well in the curry paste and let them sear for a few minutes, stirring, so the flesh takes on colour and flavour.
4. The tomatoes. Add the chopped tomatoes, crush them with a spoon and let them melt down into a thick, red sauce.
5. The potatoes. Add the potatoes, season with salt, then pour in water to halfway up and stir.
6. The simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and the potatoes are soft. Stir now and then and adjust the salt.
7. To serve. Off the heat, scatter over the fresh coriander. Serve hot with white rice, grains (stewed lentils) and a rougail.

The secrets of a good curry

Roussir without burning. This is the move that makes a curry. The curry powder has to cook in the hot oil until it releases its aroma — but if the oil is too fierce, the spices burn and turn bitter. The trick: loosen the powder with a little water before you add it, and lower the heat the moment it catches on the bottom.

Fresh caripoulé. Caripoulé (curry leaves) give that unmistakable, distinctly Mauritian aroma. Fresh, they are in another league from dried. You fry them with the onions so they infuse the whole sauce.

Gentle cooking. A curry can't be rushed. Over low heat, the chicken has time to grow tender and the sauce time to thicken. This is where free-range chicken earns its place: its firm flesh holds up to the simmer, where an industrial chicken would fall apart and weep water.

Why free-range chicken changes everything

You can make a curry with any chicken. But with a real free-range chicken, the dish steps up a level. Raised outdoors for 81 days and halal certified, it has firm flesh that holds up to long cooking, without falling apart or weeping water — and a clean, full flavour that carries right through the sauce. It's the foundation of a curry with real character.

• Free-range chicken, outdoors for 81 days, halal certified — from Rs 425/kg, VAT included.
• Vacuum-sealed and cut to order: just ask for it "cut for curry" on WhatsApp.
• Fancy a cari lontan? The ti cari (liver, heart & gizzard) at Rs 450/kg.
• Price confirmed by weight, before delivery — every chicken weighs a little differently.

Pay on delivery (cash or Juice MCB) · nothing is paid online · free delivery from Rs 1,500, anywhere in Mauritius.

Frequently asked questions