Caribbean Stewed Chicken Recipe

Basically it's caramelized chicken with or without gungo(pigeon) peas and onions in a rich brown gravy that you serve with rice.
I still make this when I'm feeling homesick.
Prep: 20 minutes (plus marinating time and cooking the gungo(pigeon) peas unless you're using canned)
Cooking: an hour-ish.

INGREDIENTS:
Chicken - whole cut up chicken or parts as you choose (I remove the skin)
Onions - a largish one, finely chopped.
A few cloves of garlic, chopped.
A few slivers of chopped ginger - big pieces so people can pick them out.
Can of Gungo(pigeon) peas.
Spices and other stuff that you should have;
Worcestershire sauce,
Soya sauce,
fresh thyme (dried can sub),
bay leaves,
salt, pepper,
celery leaves,
lemon juice



Directions:
Season your chicken pieces in a mix of Soya sauce,
Worcestershire sauce,
pepper, chopped garlic,
a splash of lemon,
pimentos (if you're fancy).
The main things are that it looks brown (soya sauce does that) and that you don't drown it in the stuff
as you're going to fry it before you stew it.
Leave for anything between 24 hours and 5 minutes.

Heat some sunflower or corn oil in a large heavy bottom pan.
Add a teaspoon of heaped sugar and heat it until it caramelizes to the point of burning, but not quite.
At the moment when it's just about to turn into a black burning mass throw the chicken and stir like crazy.
If it's not spitting and browning like crazy then it wasn't hot enough (but carry on anyway).
Brown the chicken all over on a high heat - about five minutes.

Add onions and garlic and ginger and turn the heat down and cook for a few minutes until the onions are soft-ish.

Add a can of chopped tomatoes, or water and tomato puree, or just plain water,
bring to the boil (if you have some thyme add a pinch or twig and a bayleaf),
turn down to a simmer and cover and leave for 20 minutes or so.
You can add finely chopped celery leaves and chopped spring onions now if you have them.
The mixture will render a surprising amount of liquid for a tasty gravy!

Uncover, look and taste, season if needed.
Now add you gungo(pigeon) peas if you want.
Cook for another 20 minutes, uncover to reduce if needed, while you cook your rice.
I serve it with some sliced avocado, maybe a tomato salad and some hot pepper sauce.