A Chicken Curry Recipe – Sri Lankan Style
Here at Direct Traveller we’ve started a new thing: at the beginning of each month one member of our staff cooks something amazing for the team, which is usually inspired by their culture. Our accountant, Savidu is renowned for being a dab hand in the kitchen and actually triggered this whole idea through making us a delicious Caribbean meal, so when it came to offering some international cuisine recipes on this blog, I knew I had to pick his brains. It had to be a Sri Lankan recipe too, as having been born and raised there, he knows a thing or two about the cuisine.Without further ado, here is a recipe for a unique Savidu inspired, Sri Lankan style chicken curry. Word of warning: get your spice racks at the ready.
What you’ll need:
First:
– Tameric (quarter of a table spoon)
– Ground Coriander (2 tablespoons)
– Ground Cumin (1 tablespoon)
– 2 cardamoms
– 1 small cinnamon stick
– 2 cloves
– Chilli powder (half a tablespoon)
– Vinegar (1 tablespoon)
– Black pepper (half a tablespoon) and salt
Second:
– 500 grams of chicken thighs and drumsticks
– 1 green chilli
– 1 big onion
– 1 and a half cloves of fresh garlic (chopped)
– 1 small root of fresh ginger (chopped)
-2 curry leaves/sticks
– 1 half of a small lemongrass
– 1 big tomato
– Coconut oil or vegetable oil
– 150 ml Coconut Milk
– Tamarind paste(1 tablespoon)
– 1 Pandan leaf
First: Marinating the chicken
Put into a bowl ground coriander and cumin, then add 3 cloves, 2 cardamoms, 1 small cinnamon stick, half a teaspoon of chilli powder, half a teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of seasoning salt and then make sure all is well ground. Next add 1 tablespoon of vinegar/coconut vinegar to it all and mix. Next you’ll want to throw in half a teaspoon of tameric and then once again make sure the entire flavoursome concoction is well ground and mixed.
Put your chicken into this mixture and leave to marinate for 45 minutes to an hour.
Second: Cooking the chicken
Put 2 spoons worth of oil/ coconut oil into a pan and add garlic, ginger, 1 pandan leaf and 2 curry leaves. After 1 minutes, add chopped up onion. Next chop up the tomato and add, followed by your lemongrass, 1 green chilli and then mix and allow to fry for around three minutes.
Lastly, add the chicken on a normal heat and cook for five minutes, making sure to cook on the other side for another five minutes also. Next add Tamarind paste, then about 300ml of water to the pan.
Mix together and leave to cook for 20 minutes on a medium heat. Then cook for another 20 minutes on a low heat.
Third: Optional coconut milk
You can optionally add some coconut milk and then leave for another 6 minutes at this point. Taste before serving to check flavour is good for you. You can always add some more seasoning at this point if not.
Fourth: Serve up
You’re done! Serve up with some boiled rice or bread and enjoy!