This post is at the request of my dear daughters. Now all grown up and living their independent lives, they miss mom’s cooking and the simple things in life. The very reason I started this blog was to pass on a little bit of me, so my dear daughters, enjoy!

The word “curry” can be confusing as practically every Asian cuisine will have their own version, and the blends of “curry powder” can be just as diverse. For a Sri Lankan, curry means coconut milk and a mix of spice powders and whole spices.

My recipe for chicken curry follows the recipe of Charmain Solomon who’s book The Complete Asian Cookbook I consider my recipe bible! I like this recipe because it breaks the spice ingredients down to basics so that you don’t need to go looking for a particular blend/brand of curry powder. Of course over the years I have played with the quantities of individual spices to make the recipe my own. I love cumin, so I tend to load up on that. I hope I inspire you to experiment with quantities and make this curry your own!

My personal preference for chicken curry is to use a whole chicken as I believe the different parts add flavour to the curry. However, you can choose to prepare the curry with whichever parts you prefer. Skin off and bone in is highly recommended, but, again, is optional. (A post regarding cleaning and jointing a chicken will follow.)

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 Kg chicken or chicken parts
• 2 tbsp ghee or oil
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic pounded or grated
• 1 thumb ginger pounded or grated (~2 tsps.)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chili powder (more if you want it spicy)
• 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder (or paprika): for colour.
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp fennel seed powder
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 med tomatoes chopped (optional)
• 1-3 whole green chills (optional; omit for mild curry)
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 4 cardamoms bruised (or 1/2 tsp cardamom powder)
• 2-3 cloves bruised (or 1/4 tsp clove powder)
• 1 stalk lemongrass bruised (white part only) (fresh/frozen)
• 3-4 inch piece pandan leaf (fresh/frozen/dried)
• Water as needed
• 1/4 cup coconut cream
• salt to taste (1-2 tsp)
• 1/2- 1 tsp lime/lemon juice (or to taste)

Method

• If using a whole chicken, remove skin and joint into 12-14 pieces. Wash well and drain. Add salt and turmeric to the chicken pieces and set aside while preparing the rest of the ingredients. (For those living in the Philippines, adobo cut works well for this recipe.)
• Heat ghee or oil (my personal preference is coconut oil), add the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Fry for a couple of minutes and add the onion, garlic, and ginger. At this point lower the heat and fry gently till the onions are golden. Take your time at this point as this is what will give you the rich flavour of your curry.
• Add the rest of the spices, fry (do no burn), Add the vinegar and stir well. Now add the chicken. Mix till the chicken is well coated in the spice mixture. Add tomatoes (if using), lemongrass and pandan leaf cover and cook on low-medium heat for 30-45 mins, stirring occasionally. If the curry looks dry, add water as needed (usually 1/2-1 cup maybe needed).
• Lower heat, add coconut cream, and stir well. Adjust salt. Continue cooking uncovered for about 5 minutes.
• Switch off heat and add lime/lemon juice to taste.

Chicken curry can be served with rice, roti, stringhoppers, hoppers, pittu, bread, waffles, Sri Lankan pancakes, noodles, and just about anything!