Coronation Chicken

Primrose53

kittylester

The reason I have never made Coronation Chicken is the curry powder which I never use for curry. Isn't it a bit 'obvious'?

Not at all. It’s only a couple of teaspoons. The mango chutney I add gives a lot of spicy flavour. On odd occasions I have used fresh chopped mango but the chutney is actually better.

I found four recipes, one was Mary Berry, one Constance Spry's original and two others.

I used one tablespoonful of medium curry powder (I was making a large quantity), organic yogurt, Hellman's mayo, chopped apricots, Geeta's Mango chutney, no sultanas and no nuts in case anyone had a nut allergy.
Organic chicken poached in flavoured stock.

It all went.

Ps it's not my favourite recipe because I'd never made it before.

We didn't have Coronation chicken in 1953. Meat was still rationed, didn't come off until '54. We kept chickens in the (large) garden of our council house. They were bought as chicks and raised to be killed at Christmas, one for us and one each for the grandparents. We had 2 which survived and lived for years-mine and my brother's.
I eat chicken occasionally now.

Whitewavemark2

I’m still waiting for a good recipe. 😄😄

😁

Mine's easy peasy and it seem to go down well with all who ate it!!

Perhaps if I was making it for a posh or family dinner I might have followed Constance Spry but no-one complained!

It needs to be made in advance so the flavours can meld.

Gloryanny Lots of people kept chickens during and after the war. My mother and grandmother kept chickens in the back garden of our house in Lewisham, in London.

However, Coronation chicken was not created as something families around the country would be preparing to eat on coronation day. It was actually created to be served at the late Queen's coronation banquet and was initially called 'Poulet Reine Elizabeth'.

When the recipe was published, it sounded so nice that many people went to great effforts to make it and so enjoyed it it became the popular dish it is today.

My recipe on Page 2 is super easy and contains light mayo and o% fat greek yoghourt so is healthier than full fat mayo and double cream used by Constance Spry but it is equally tasty!

I have been making it this way for years and years and everyone loves it. The pomegranate seeds and flaked almonds set it off nicely.

PS. My recipe poaches the chicken rather than Constance Spry’s method of grilling it so no messy grill pans either. 😉

I added some curry powder as I made the mayo. Poached the chicken in water with pepper, curry leaves, bay, rosemary, celery.

Remainder of dish as usual. Served with fantastic artichoke pea rice (curried) salad and really nice breads.

I hear it was delish. It did vanish!

Blondiescot

Every time we have a food question, the holier than thou brigade always have to get stuck in. Not everyone can afford to eat organic free-range chicken. Some are struggling and on a tight budget where, unfortunately, they have to settle for what they can afford. And the OP just asked for people's favourite recipes, not a lecture.

I cannot agree more,ok being holier than though if you can afford it.

M0nica

Gloryanny Lots of people kept chickens during and after the war. My mother and grandmother kept chickens in the back garden of our house in Lewisham, in London.

However, Coronation chicken was not created as something families around the country would be preparing to eat on coronation day. It was actually created to be served at the late Queen's coronation banquet and was initially called 'Poulet Reine Elizabeth'.

When the recipe was published, it sounded so nice that many people went to great effforts to make it and so enjoyed it it became the popular dish it is today.

Yet another example of how coronations highlight inequality then. No chicken for the plebs

If you already have items like ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala it’s very easy to mix and make your own curry powder which I often do. I buy the East End brand as it works out a lot cheaper than buying jars of spice.

Primrose53

PS. My recipe poaches the chicken rather than Constance Spry’s method of grilling it so no messy grill pans either. 😉

Yes, it's moister too.

I only eat chickens if they've been personally introduced and have been brought up using Montessori methods since egghood. My curry powder is hand ground by a Maharaja from spices grown in a special plot which is free of pests, so doesn't need pesticides. It makes such a difference to the flavour, I can assure you.

My recipe for Coronation Chicken is a secret, as it was passed to my grandmother by the Royal chef straight after the coronation of the late Queen, on condition that she kept it in a sealed vault when not being used.

Unfortunately, as all of that is such a faff, I just tend to buy it from Sainsbury's.

😂😂😂

Here's Buffy, the one and only Coronation Chicken.
She is set to be a star 😀

I knew her mother🥳

Doodledog

I knew her mother🥳

I linked to the story in a post above but couldn't post a picture.

I knew her when she was just a 🐣

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-65517284

Gloranny Plenty of chicken for the plebs, because, as you said, you had them in your backyard, and so did we, and so did many others.

A celebration is a celebration whether a coronation or a wedding and, in our period, most weddings included a reception where parents would often spend money they had saved for decades, on a daughter's wedding, to make sure they 'did her proud'

I am sure you, of course, managed with a pie and a pint in a pub or even a cup of tea heated over a fire of scavenged twigs, but you have only to see the wedding photos in so many houses to realise that most people, pushed the boat out - and pride of place on the buffet table or served plate would be chicken.

Doodledog 😂😂.

I don’t think we ever had chicken when I was a child in the 50s and 60s - too expensive. Sunday roast was usually beef. In any case my mother was squeamish about chicken (‘Because it’s a bird’ 🤔 - mind you she was squeamish about a lot of things, including ‘eggy’ eggs ) - and my father didn’t like lamb - he called it dead sheep.
I dare say we had pork now and then.

Doodledog

PS @ Callistemon21 - re the “Coronation Chicken” - I ate her mother

Doodledog 😂🤣😂🤣

Strange to think now that beef, lamb and pork were the usual meats, and chicken (always my favourite) was a treat. I don’t know whether my parents kept chickens, but they certainly had a very bad-tempered pig that once trapped my mother in the gents’ toilet of the pub they kept.

Many years ago, we went on a posh do where a variation of coronation chicken was served. I have made it myself ever since and it always goes down a treat.
Cooked chicken breasts, diced or shredded.
Tinned peaches, finely chopped or apricots.
Chopped spring onions.
Green seedless grapes halved and added to mixture.
Sauce: Hellmans mayonnaise, curry powder, paprika, black pepper.
All mixed together and put on large platter surrounded by shredded lettuce and halved baby tomatoes. Paprika sprinkled lightly on the top.
Never ever any leftovers.

Are you still waiting @kittylester! This Delia one looks nice:
delishsides.com/coronation-chicken-recipe-delia-smith/