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    "Home" » Whole30

    Bunjal Chicken {Whole30, Paleo}

    Published: Jan 18, 2013 · Modified: Mar 25, 2023 by Althea Brown · This post may contain affiliate links · 16 Comments

    Updated 5/4/2020

    Bunjal Chicken (sometimes spelled Bhunjal) refers to a type of curry we make in Guyana. When making bunjal curry, we cook the curry until there isn't any sauce left, just a thick masala clinging to the protein. In a conversation with my cousin in law (who is from India) I discovered that Bhuna is the Indian term for this type of curry. It made me wonder if bunjal is Bhuna but it became distorted through years of oral dissemination. If anyone has any insight on this, I would love to know more.

    Jump to:
    • Updated 5/4/2020
    • Prepping the chicken
    • Making the Curry Paste
    • Bunjaling the chicken
    • Save it for Later
    • The Printable Bunjal Chicken Recipe
    • Try these other recipes that pair well with Bunjal Chicken
    • Try my other curry recipes:

    In Guyana when we make curry, we typically make a form of madras curry—rich  with turmeric, coriander, cumin and garam masala. In fact, I didn't know there were other types of curries—red curry, green curry, massaman, etc—until I immigrated to the United States. This bunjal curry recipe is straight forward, uses pantry ingredients and comes together quickly. It was taught to me by my mother and taught to her by her mother, so it's a part of our family traditions. One day, I will teach it to my daughter, as I am teaching it to you.

    Prepping the chicken

    Boneless, skinless chicken thighs work best for this recipe, but you may also use chicken breasts. In my original post, I shared some steps for making your own boneless chicken thighs. I've replaced those photos with a link to this really great video that explains the deboning process in a few simple steps. Click here for the video.

    Making the Curry Paste

    I love using pantry ingredients for this simple curry. Yellow or madras curry powder, roasted cumin (geera), garam masala and paprika gives this dish a rich and warm curry flavor. Turn up the heat by adding some chili powder or cayenne pepper.

    Bunjaling the chicken

    The best part about cooking this dish, is when the curry paste hit the hot oil and all of the aroma explodes in your kitchen. It's such a rich and familiar smell to me. It takes me right back to my childhood and memories of my mother making curry in our tiny kitchen in Guyana. When the curry paste cooks down to a rich sauce, add your chicken and sauté or bunjal, as we say in Guyana until the chicken in completely cooked. This is the secret to great bunjal chicken. Just letting the chicken sauté in the curry until cooked and adding a small amount of water at the end, if necessary

    Save it for Later

     

    The Printable Bunjal Chicken Recipe

    [b]Bunjal Chicken {Whole30, Paleo}[/b]
     
    Recipe Type: Curry, Whole30, Paleo
    Cuisine: Guyanese/Caribbean
    Author: Althea Brown
    Prep time: 15 mins
    Cook time: 30 mins
    Total time: 45 mins
    Serves: 4 Servings
    Boneless, skinless chicken thighs sautéed in a rich and flavorful curry paste.
    Ingredients
    • 1.5 lb boneless chicken thighs (diced into 1 inch pieces)
    • 1 small yellow onion diced
    • 3 tablespoon oil
    • Curry Paste:
    • 1 tablespoon Madras/yellow curry powder
    • 1 teaspoon crushed dried thyme leaves
    • ½ teaspoon [url href="https://amzn.to/2Wvk3cN"]garam masala[/url]
    • 1 tablespoon[url href="https://amzn.to/2WsXkye"]roasted ground cumin[/url]or ½ teaspoon of [url href="https://amzn.to/3fn3MPX"]geera[/url]
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 4 cloves of garlic, grated (may substitute with 1 tablespoon of granulated garlic)
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon tomato paste (use compliant tomato paste if on Whole30)
    • Pinch of Cayenne or chili pepper (optional for additional heat)
    • 1 cup water
    Instructions
    1. Add salt to diced chicken thighs and set aside
    2. Add oil to a large skillet or sauté pan on medium heat
    3. When the oil comes up to temperature add the diced onions and cook until onions are soft and slightly brown
    4. While onions are browning, add curry powder, thyme, garam masala, cumin or geera and paprika to a small bowl and mix together
    5. Then add water and stir in the tomato paste to form a curry paste (it will be watery)
    6. When onions are soft and slightly brown, add the garlic, followed by the curry paste and cook until all the water cooks down and curry paste becomes thick and slightly brown. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn the curry paste
    7. Next, add the chicken thighs and mix together with the curry paste to ensure that the chicken is completely coated
    8. Increase the heat to high heat and sauté for about 10 minutes (stirring often) or until chicken becomes a little brown
    9. Then reduce the heat to medium cover and continue to cook for another 10 minutes turning the chicken often to avoid burning
    10. After 10 minutes of covered cooking the juices of the chicken should cook all the way down, add 1 cup of water and increase the heat to high, bringing the curry sauce to a quick boil
    11. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the water cooks down from the sauce and a very thick curry sauce is left
    12. Remove from the heat and serve with your favorite side dish
     
    Notes
    If you have a great curry powder you can skip the added garam masala and ground cumin or geera
    3.5.3251

    Try these other recipes that pair well with Bunjal Chicken

    Fried Baigan

    Cauliflower Rice and Split Peas

    Instant Pot Dhal

    Sautéed Spinach and Tomatoes

    Try my other curry recipes:

    Shrimp curry

    Lamb Curry

    « Guyanese Bhaji (Sautéed Spinach)
    Simple (Dairy Free) Pancakes »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Vitri Ann says

      January 28, 2013 at 2:32 pm

      bunjal style eh, lol. Gyal you is a real real Guyanese coolie 🙂

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        January 29, 2013 at 8:22 am

        Yes Gyal. 🙂

        Reply
    2. schadah says

      February 04, 2013 at 8:21 am

      hi dear. Thank you for your recipes. I love reading them. Reminds me so much of home. Mek meh Chowmein recipe last night. lol. Was wondering if you could add an email icon to your blogs. Sometimes I like to share recipes with my friends who are learning to make Guyanese foods and many of them are not on facebook or twitter. But your recipes are just as good and since you've taken your time to write, I would just like to point them in the direction of your recipes. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        February 04, 2013 at 8:14 pm

        Great idea. I'll look into it. In the mean time if you click on the recipe title it will take you directly to that recipe page and you can copy and paste that link in your email to your friends. Will let you know as soon as I figure out how to add the email this recipe link. Thanks for the love and that's for sharing. How yah chowmein taste sweet. 🙂

        Reply
        • schadah says

          February 05, 2013 at 7:01 am

          gyal meh chowmein was good. I was even surprised. lol. I didn't see your recipe until after. But where I live I don't have guyanese kind chow mein noodles... so i improvise a lot. And i use a kind of marinade blend that I store in the fridge. It has casareep, soya sauce, hoisin sauce, five spice and some other 'chowmein-friedrice' ingredients. But it was great. Will try your Bunjal this weekend!!!

          Reply
          • Metemgee says

            February 05, 2013 at 8:12 pm

            Yum, yum. Sounds good. And you know Guyanese ppl like their mix up fridge stored seasoning. If you have an Asian Type store where you live, they usually have chowmein in the fridge somewhere in the store. 🙂

            Reply
      • Metemgee says

        February 06, 2013 at 12:39 pm

        So I added the email tab, as well as print if you need to print anything. Thanks again for the suggestion. And as always, happy cooking.

        Reply
    3. gator02 says

      August 28, 2013 at 5:42 pm

      its always good

      Reply
    4. Alana says

      January 26, 2015 at 4:57 pm

      Thank for sharing these classic guyanese cuisine now I master the art of making roti!! you rock keep them coming.

      Reply
    5. Abbi says

      April 10, 2021 at 7:08 pm

      Made this with your grain free roti. Hubby, who doesn’t even like curries generally, loved it a d even asked for seconds! Will definitely be making again, thanks!!

      Reply
      • Althea Brown says

        April 15, 2021 at 7:23 am

        So glad he loved it. Thank you for trying and sharing

        Reply
    6. Priya D Singh says

      October 29, 2021 at 1:09 pm

      Do you ever cheat and use Lalah's curry powder? Asking for a friend.

      Reply
      • Althea Brown says

        November 24, 2021 at 7:31 am

        Use Lalah's and not the other spices? You can use Lalah's that used to be my favorite curry powder but recently every time I cook with it it comes out grainy. Not sure if they changed the formula.

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Gluten Free / Grain Free Roti - Metemgee says:
      May 14, 2020 at 5:34 am

      […] Bunjal Chicken […]

      Reply
    2. Guyanese Style Chicken Curry - Metemgee says:
      September 24, 2020 at 2:02 am

      […] and I have thighs and drumsticks I will choose those over chicken breasts. Unless I am making Bunjal Chicken which is a different recipe all together. Click here to check it […]

      Reply
    3. 1liberals says:
      January 12, 2022 at 4:07 pm

      1skating

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Althea! I have a real passion for cooking, especially traditional Caribbean recipes with deep roots! I was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana and now live in Denver, Colorado with my husband and 3 kids. I am a Whole30 Certified Coach and love sharing wholesome remixes to traditional Guyanese and Caribbean dishes.

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