Ceylon Chicken Curry
Easy Sri Lankan Style Chicken Curry with chicken thigh, aromatic spices and creamy coconut milk . Create restaurant-quality delicious curry at home under 30 minutes!
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Servings: 3
Calories: 482kcal
Ingredients
- 400 g (14oz) Chicken thigh Or breast, Boneless skinless, cut into medium bite-size pieces
- 4 Shallot onion Finely chopped
- 2 Tomato Vine ripen tomato, finely chopped
- 2 tsp Tomato puree Tomato puree/concentrate
- 3 cloves Garlic Paste or grated
- 2 tsp Ginger Paste or grated
- 10 Curry leaves Fresh or dried
- 6 Green chilli Cut into halves ( Adjust chilli amount according to your taste. )
- ½ tsp Crushed chilli flakes Optional, omit it if you prefer mild.
- Handful Coriander
- 1 tbsp Lime juice or tamarind juice
- 6 pods Cardamom green cardamom
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 150 ml Coconut milk creamy coconut milk
- 1 cup Water about 230 ml, Add more water if needed
- 1½ tsp Salt Add more or less according to your taste
- 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
Spices
- 1 tbsp Curry powder Sri Lankan curry powder/Indian curry powder/Madras curry powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika/chilli powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Black pepper
Instructions
- First cut the chicken thigh into medium bite-size pieces and remove extra fats.
- Heat the pan into medium heat, saute the curry leaves, cinnamon, and cardamom for few seconds and follow with the chopped shallots and saute until soft and translucent.
- Next add the green chilli, garlic and ginger and stir for1-2 minutes, stir well until the onions become caramalized and light brown.
- Then add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Saute until the tomatoes become soft and oil starts to seperate with the sauce.
- Now it's ready to add the spices, chilli powder, turmeric, curry powder, black pepper, and stir for few seconds.
- Place the chicken in and combine well with everything and cook for 2-3 minutes with medium heat. Add a splash of water if needed. After stiring for 2-3 minutes pour the water and coconut milk in. Close the lid, simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes, stir occacionally.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked and tender, turn off the heat and add green chilli and squeeze in lime juice. Sprinkle some chopped coriander.
- Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with extra green chillies and coriander. Serve with plain rice or naan.
Notes
- Sri Lankan Curry Powder - Usually consist of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, fennel, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, and mustard seeds. All spices are toasted and ground into fine powder. If you cannot get it easily, you can use Indian curry powder or Madaras curry powder.
- Shallot onions - Highly recommend using Asian shallots or baby shallots which are less watery and easy to melt in the curry.
- Coconut milk - Coconut milk creates a perfectly balanced creamy curry sauce. Use creamy coconut milk, full fat or higher percentage coconut.
- Coconut milk substitute - You can use double cream/ full cream.
- Curry leaves - Curry leaves are essential in Sri Lankan and South Indian curries which has a distinct aromatic flavour. You can buy it in Indian grocery stores and some of the supermarkets. Both fresh or dried curry leaves can be used for this recipe. If you cannot find it easily you can omit it or substitute it with bay leaves.
- Lime juice - Add a tablespoon of fresh-squeezed lime juice, tamarind juice.
- How to make it less spicy? Reduce chilli powder amount or use paprika powder instead of Kashmiri chilli powder. Deseed the green chillies or you can omit green chillies according to your preference.
- How to make it more creamy? You can add more coconut milk if you like creamier curry sauce.
- Can you make it ahead? You can cook the curry one day ahead. Keep it cool in the fridge with a lid closed or in an air-tight container.
- Can you freeze or reheat it? You can store it in an air-tight freezer-safe bag or container. It usually lasts in the fridge for up to two weeks. Reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave until piping hot just before serving. Add a splash of water if the sauce becomes too thick.
Nutrition
Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 1990mg | Potassium: 799mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1237IU | Vitamin C: 95mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 5mg
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