Sri Lankan red chicken curry recipe
This richly fragrant red curry is a wonderfully warming – and surprisingly simple to cook – dish, and the perfect introduction to Sri Lankan cuisine. Chef Karan Gokani, who co-founded Hoppers in London, says it's one of his favourite dishes on the Sri Lankan restaurant's menu.
"This simple yet gorgeous curry is my go-to dish when introducing people to Sri Lankan food at the restaurant, in demos or cookery classes," he says. "It’s easy and approachable, yet tastes so different from any North Indian or South East Asian curry that you might first associate it with when reading through the ingredients. If you’re new to Sri Lankan food or cooking curries generally, I would highly recommend starting with this recipe."
It really is worth taking the time to make your own curry powder, and to roast the spices before grinding. This brings a real depth and complexity to the curry, and you can make extra to liven up other sauces and stews.
"The spice blend is darker than the basic unroasted curry powder and has a nuttier flavour," adds Karan. "The addition of rice intensifies this nuttiness and helps to thicken curries and sauces as well; I used basmati in this recipe, but red rice will work too. As the ingredients are fully roasted before grinding, this curry powder doesn’t need to be fried in fat or cooked for very long when used in a dish. Consequently, it’s often added to dishes towards the end of the cooking process and simply sprinkled over and stirred through."
Ingredients
- 25 g green cardamom seeds
- 5 g cloves
- 50 g cinnamon sticks or broken pieces
- 50 g basmati rice
- 150 g coriander seeds
- 75 g cumin seeds
- 50 g fennel seeds
- 10 g fenugreek seeds
- 15 g black peppercorns
- 25 g curry leaves or 10g (¼oz) dried curry leaves
- 15 g pandan leaves or 5g (⅕oz) dried pandan leaves
- 0.9 oz green cardamom seeds
- 0.2 oz cloves
- 1.8 oz cinnamon sticks or broken pieces
- 1.8 oz basmati rice
- 5.3 oz coriander seeds
- 2.6 oz cumin seeds
- 1.8 oz fennel seeds
- 0.4 oz fenugreek seeds
- 0.5 oz black peppercorns
- 0.9 oz curry leaves or 10g (¼oz) dried curry leaves
- 0.5 oz pandan leaves or 5g (⅕oz) dried pandan leaves
- 0.9 oz green cardamom seeds
- 0.2 oz cloves
- 1.8 oz cinnamon sticks or broken pieces
- 1.8 oz basmati rice
- 5.3 oz coriander seeds
- 2.6 oz cumin seeds
- 1.8 oz fennel seeds
- 0.4 oz fenugreek seeds
- 0.5 oz black peppercorns
- 0.9 oz curry leaves or 10g (¼oz) dried curry leaves
- 0.5 oz pandan leaves or 5g (⅕oz) dried pandan leaves
- 1 kg bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed and cut into 8-10cm (3-4in) pieces (you can use boneless thighs if you prefer, but the curry won’t be as flavourful)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp roasted curry powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 250 g red onion (approx. 1 large onion), sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 lemongrass sticks
- 1 x 10cm (4in) piece pandan leaf
- 15 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 150 g ripe tomato (approx. 1 large tomato), sliced
- 150 ml fresh chicken stock
- 250 ml coconut milk
- 2 green chillis, halved lengthways
- 2.2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed and cut into 8-10cm (3-4in) pieces (you can use boneless thighs if you prefer, but the curry won’t be as flavourful)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp roasted curry powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 8.8 oz red onion (approx. 1 large onion), sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 lemongrass sticks
- 1 x 10cm (4in) piece pandan leaf
- 15 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 5.3 oz ripe tomato (approx. 1 large tomato), sliced
- 5.3 fl oz fresh chicken stock
- 8.8 fl oz coconut milk
- 2 green chillis, halved lengthways
- 2.2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed and cut into 8-10cm (3-4in) pieces (you can use boneless thighs if you prefer, but the curry won’t be as flavourful)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp roasted curry powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp ginger paste
- 2 tbsp garlic paste
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 8.8 oz red onion (approx. 1 large onion), sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 lemongrass sticks
- 1 x 10cm (4in) piece pandan leaf
- 15 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 5.3 oz ripe tomato (approx. 1 large tomato), sliced
- 0.6 cup fresh chicken stock
- 1.1 cups coconut milk
- 2 green chillis, halved lengthways
Details
- Cuisine: Sri Lankan
- Recipe Type: Curry
- Difficulty: Medium
- Preparation Time: 95 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
For the roasted curry powder:
- Heat a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Roast the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon in the dry pan, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes until fragrant but being careful not to burn them.
- Add the rice and continue roasting for 12-14 minutes until nutty and light brown. In a separate pan, roast the remaining ingredients for 12-14 minutes, stirring constantly, until the leaves are dry and brittle.
- Leave to cool completely before combining and grinding to a fine powder in a blender or spice grinder. Pass through a strainer and grind any remaining large pieces. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Please note: Grinding spices while they are still warm risks their oils separating and the powder turning into a paste. Moreover, it also results in the grinder overheating, which can burn the spices and damage the motor. You can tip the freshly roasted spices onto a large plate or tray, as spreading them out will help cool them down quicker.
For the curry:
- Combine the chicken with ½ tsp turmeric, 2 tsp roasted curry powder, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp each ginger and garlic paste. Mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onion along with ½ tsp salt and sauté until translucent. Add the remaining ginger and garlic paste and continue frying until the raw smell is no longer present. Stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, lemongrass, pandan leaf and curry leaves. Add the chilli powder, remaining ½ tsp turmeric and remaining 2 tbsp roasted curry powder. Fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Stir in the tomato and cook over a medium heat, stirring often until it softens and turns pulpy. Add the chicken and stir well to ensure it’s coated in the spices, about 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the chicken stock, mix everything well, cover and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and green chillies, if using, and reduce to a simmer for another 5-7 minutes. Season with the remaining salt.
Recipe extracted from HOPPERS: The Cookbook by Karan Gokani (Quadrille, £28). Photography by Ryan Wijayaratne.
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