Sri Lankan Chicken Curry (My Version) Spicy

I love Chicken curry! It's a spicy meat dish you can eat with rice, roti, bread, string hoppers, etc...

You will need to pull out your spices.

I will be using the cloves, cardamom pods, fenugreek seeds, chili powder and turmeric powder. I will also be adding some roasted curry powder.

Let's talk about curry powder. Curry powder is mostly a blend of aromatics that are roasted and ground to season your food. All curry powders vary. There are as many curry powders as there are cooks. Some people make their own. I used a brand of Sri Lankan curry that I like. You may buy a ready made powder from your local Indian grocers. Unfortunately, curry powder is a variable I will not be able to guarantee on the taste of your final dish. I suggest you try a variety and find a curry powder you really like.

** Note the chili powder mentioned above is from dried red chilies (you can buy this at any Indian grocers). Do not use the chili powder that you would use for chili con carne

Step one: Cut up bone-in skinless chicken. You can use whatever parts of the chicken you want. I used an entire chicken (white and dark meat here) that was about 3lbs. You really want to use bone-in chicken because the bones help enrich the gravy.

Step Two. Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours in grated ginger (2tbs), minced garlic (4 cloves), 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1tbs chili powder, 1tbs curry powder, salt, pepper and a good splash of vinegar or lime.   I marinated my chicken for 2 hours.

You will need one chopped onion, 2 diced serrano chilies, a handful of curry leaves, 2 tbs of grated ginger, 2 tbs of minced garlic and a handful of lemon grass. Lemon grass is optional. I just like the flavor it gives to the dish.

Heat oil in a large pan and add your dry spices. 4-6 cloves, 4-6 cardamom pods, 1tbs fenugreek seeds, 2 small pieces of cinnamon bark. Also add the curry leaves and the lemon grass at this time.
** do not substitute cinnamon powder for cinnamon bark/stick
Note:
If I ever use cardamom, cloves or cinnamon sticks make sure you discard these items before eating or avoid eating them. They are very strong tasting and are used just to flavor the food, but not so nice if you eat them alone. The curry leaves can be eaten... they are tasty. : )

Once the dry spices are heated through, add the onion, garlic, ginger and serranos chilies.

Once the onions soften a bit, add your marinated chicken.

Mix and brown everything up.

Now add some more spices. I added 2tbs of chili powder, 2 tbs of curry powder and 1/2tsp of turmeric. You can salt and pepper your dish again here.
**if you do not eat very spicy food you can adjust the chili powder here accordingly to your taste.

Brown all the chicken with the added spices.

I added one small can of diced tomatoes. My tomatoes also had some green chilies in it.

Stir and incorporate all the ingredients together. 

Now you can add some water. I added about 5 cups of water here. I like gravy. So you can add as much or little water as you want here.

Note***If you add little water then remember the spices you add earlier will be very intense. If you add a lot of water then the spices will be more diluted. It's a game of tasting the dish as the chicken cooks to make sure you have the right balance of spices.

Once the water is added simmer the chicken for about 30 minutes on medium-high heat. The chicken should be very tender, but not so over cooked that is melting and falling off the bones into the gravy. Your chicken pieces should be intact.   Now add half a can of of coconut milk to the dish.
**Remember to taste, taste, taste. Make sure that the gravy is spicy enough and salted enough. If it's missing some added flavor you can also add a splash of lime juice.

This Chicken curry makes me happy. I hope you enjoy it. It will serve 8-10 people.
Note: Leftovers are even more delicious! 

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.