Sri Lankan chicken curry

Adapted from Move Nourish Believe website

This is a flavoursome Sri Lankan curry which is easy to make and doesn’t take hours to cook. Makes for a great mid-week meal, especially if the mother-in-law is over for dinner. We serve ours with steamed green beans which is likely not very traditional, but it pairs well and reduces the calories. Of course, basmati rice makes for a fuller accompaniment and soaks up the sauce nicely.

Time

1 hour 15 minutes total: 1 hour attended, 15 minutes unattended

Storage notes

Keeps in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze for 6 weeks. 

Difficulty

easy 

Yield

1500 g (servings 4 )

Ingredients
Weight
Volume
Procedure
A
Ghee
25 g
2 tbsp
1
Heat in a pan over medium heat.
B
Fenugreek seeds
1 g
¼ tsp
Curry leaves
0.8 g
10 each
2
Add to pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
C
Scallions, thinly slices
90 g
6 medium
Garlic cloves, chopped
24 g
6 cloves
Ginger, medium grate
8 g
2 tsp
3
Add to pan and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes.
D
Chilli powder
1.4 g
½ tsp
Paprika, sweet
5.4 g
2 tsp
Coriander seeds, ground
3.8 g
2 tsp
Turmeric, ground
2.6 g
1 tsp
Cumin seeds, ground
2.6 g
1 tsp
Fennel seeds, ground
1.8 g
1 tsp
Mustard seeds, black
4 g
1 tsp
Salt
5 g
1 tsp
4
Dry blend.
5
Add to pan and stir to combine.
E
Vinegar, apple cider
40 g
2 tbsp
6
Deglaze the pan and stir well to evenly distribute the spices.
F
Chicken thighs, each cut into 6 pieces
1000 g
6 each
7
Add to pan and stir to combine thoroughly.
G
Tomatoes, chopped
280 g
2 medium
Lemongrass; bruised and cut into 1" / 2.5 cm pieces
15 g
1 stalk
Cinnamon, whole
3.5 g
½ stick
Cardamom seeds (extracted from whole pods)
0.66 g
6 pods
8
Add to pan and stir to combine thoroughly.
9
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
0
Stir thoroughly, ensuring the tomatoes are fully crushed.
-
Cover and cook until the tomatoes have completely broken down, a further 5 minutes.
=
(Optional) Strain the entire mixture, saving the liquid and returning it to the pan. Keep the meat and vegetables warm. Reduce the liquid to a thick sauce and then return the meat and vegetables to the pan. Alternatively, you can thicken the sauce in a blender with 0.5 g xanthan gum.
H
Coconut milk
125 g
½ cup
Sambal olek
13 g
2 tsp
q
Add to pan and stir to combine.
w
Turn off heat.
e
(Optional) Find and remove the curry leaves, cinnamon and lemongrass.
r
Divide evenly between serving bowls.
I
Chilli, fresh, chopped
as needed
Coriander (optional)
as needed
Sambal olek (optional)
as needed
t
Garnish or serve on the side.

Finished recipe

Recipe: Sri Lankan chicken curry. Step .
With steamed greens and light coconut milk, this curry is highly delicious but low on calories

Type curry

Author

Yield

g

Servings

Serving size 375 g

Serve

Per
serve
Energy (kcal)441.9
Energy (kJ)1851.1
Protein (g)47.4
Fat (g)23.4
Carbs (g)7
Sugars (g)3.5
Fiber (g)3.6
Sodium (mg)675.4
Cholesterol (mg)219.9

Full details