Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Sri Lankan chicken curry is full of aroma and flavors of spices. It is bit spicy. If you look for the best Sri Lankan chicken recipe, then try this. It is easy and you don’t have to follow so many recipe instructions although the list of ingredients is longer than you want to see.

This is a recipe for chicken curry from Sri Lanka. If you prepare your curry according to this, I am sure all of your neighbors would know that you are cooking something special. The reason is that you cannot avoid the good aroma spreading.

My recipe is for about 4-5 servings. However you can adjust spices as per your taste. This is an indication only & these are the measurements & method I use in my kitchen.

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry Recipe

Ingredients

250g Chicken

½ onion sliced

1 tomato cut into pieces

1 tbsp ginger,garlic paste

1 sprig curry leaves

About 2inch piece from lemon grass root

2tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder

1 tbsp chilli powder

¼ tsp turmeric powder

About 2” cinnamon stick

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

Salt to taste

½ cup thick coconut milk

Vegetable or any cooking oil, about 4tbsp

1 cardamom

2 cloves

1 tsp raw white rice (or 1 tsp plain flour)

Method

First wash, clean & cut chicken into pieces

Keep aside to drain water.

Heat a dry pan and add all spices chilly, turmeric, curry powder & rice(or plain flour)

Roast it for about 1-2 minutes. You want to do this carefully, without burning the spices. Roast it & off from the burner when the colour is slightly brownish.

Now add these roasted spices to the chicken & mix well. If you feel that mix is dry, add 1-2 tbsp water & mix well. Add ½ tsp of salt too. Mix well

to cover chicken with the spices.

Then cover it & leave it for marinating for about 30 minutes or at least 15 minutes.

Once the chicken is marinated, heat oil in a pan.

When the oil is hot, add ginger garlic paste, cloves, cardamom, fenugreek seeds & cinnamon stick

Then add onions & mix well until onions are tender, and then add curry leaves, lemon grass. Mix well

Now add chicken which we left for marinating & mix well

When you mix, you will notice that chicken pieces become brown in colour

& at this time, add the chopped tomatoes. Mix well & cook in very low flame with stirring. If you cook in low flame, while stirring; the moisture from tomato is enough to make the chicken tender.

When the added tomato is tender & become a paste, add about ½ cup of water.

Mix well

Close with a lid & cook until chicken is done.

Then add thick coconut milk & adjust salt. When adding coconut milk, don’t add all at once. Add gradually keeping the eye on its appearance.

The chicken curry looks pleasing when it brownish in colour.

Serve hot with rice or any type of breads

Tip: Cook in an earthen or clay pot, you will see the difference in taste & also in appearance