Sri Lankan Red Chicken Curry

Sri Lankan Red Chicken Curry

The spice blend used for this recipe is called “Badapu thuna paha” in Sinhalese, which translates to “roasted three five”. Presumably the original spice blends had either three or five spices but my blend has eight ingredients.

Thuna-paha is a generic name for spice blends and each cook may have a different blend for each type of meat . Feel free to modify the blend to your taste!

In the ingredients I specify Ceylon Cinnamon. Ceylon was the colonial name used by the British for Sri Lanka, and it is now used to trademark products from Sri Lanka. Ceylon cinnamon especially is different from the cassia cinnamon commonly found in grocery stores.

Cassia cinnamon has a stronger flavor and heat but it can be harmful to humans. Cassia cinnamon has a high coumarin content – don’t use cassia cinnamon in these curries.

Prepare the spice mixture and coat the chicken, cover with cling film and refrigerate to marinate. You could do this as a first step or even the day before – the longer the chicken is marinated the better spice flavors will be incorporated into the dish.

The base provides fresh background flavors and some additional texture to the curry. If you don’t want to use coconut oil use sunflower oil or vegetable oil. You could even use olive oil (I often do) but be careful to not let it burn.

Choose the chilies based on how hot you want the dish to be. Jalapenos are mild, Serrano pepper are medium hot, Thai chilies are hot. Then there are the ultra-hot peppers (Habanero, Ghost Pepper, Dragons Breath etc.). Unfortunately these stronger chilies will mask the flavors of the curry so I don’t recommend for use in curries.

Top L: Ceylon cinamon, pandanus leaves & lime juice – Top R: The dry curry – Lower L: Adding coconut milk – Lower R: Chicken red curry – Left panel: A simple chicken curry meal.

This is where the Kukul Mas-maluwa (chicken curry) comes together and the final layers of flavor are added. In Sri Lanka this dish is often cooked using chicken on the bone cut into small segments. The bone marrow incorporated into the curry from the bone cut ends heightens the flavor but the bone shards are difficult to deal with if using knife & fork. Adding some chicken broth can compensate for the absent flavor when using de-boned chicken.

Serve your curry!

For a simple meal serve the curry you just made with white rice, a cucumber, tomato and onion salad with coconut milk dressing and some accompaniments like a mango chutney and some poppadom. If you want more variety you could include some vegetable dishes such as parippu (red lentil curry) or a deviled potatoes (lightly sauted spicy potatoes). In future posts I will share recipes and tips on how to prepare a complete meal.

If you try this recipe please let me know how it comes out by commenting on the post. If you have suggestions or requests for other recipes please contact us.

Amrita de Soyza

Sri Lankan Red Chicken Curry

The red in this recipe comes from the paprika or chilie powder – you decide proportions based on how spicy hot you want it! This is a “wet” curry with a mouthwatering gravy made with coconut milk. Sri Lankans get most of their meat protein from chicken or fish and this tasty dish is a favorite among guests at my table. Serve it with rice (of course) or an unleavened bread – Roti or Indian Naan. A tomato & cucumber salad also works well. If you make the curry with more of the hot chilie powder consider also serving a “cooling” white vegetable curry such as parippu (lentils) or ala kiri hodi (potato milk curry).
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Spices for the Spice Mix
  • 4 tsp Coriander seed
  • 2 tsp Cumin seed
  • 2 tsp Fennel seed
  • 8 – 10 pods Cardamom crush and extract seeds, discard outer pod
  • 1/4 tsp Black peppercorn
  • 10 – 15 leaves Curry leaf
  • 3 pods Dried red chilies increase if you want more heat
  • 2 tsp Rice white, uncooked
The Base for the Curry
  • 1 medium Onion Sliced
  • 8 cloves Garlic Thinly sliced
  • 2 tsp Ginger Fresh grated or paste
  • 7 – 10 leaves Curry leaves
  • 1 – 1.5 tbsp Sweet paprika Replace partially or fully with chilie powder for more spice
  • 2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp Salt Adjust to taste
  • 2 pods Green chilie Sliced
  • 4 Roma Tomatoes Coarsely chopped
  • 12 inches Pandanus leaf Fresh or dried, cut into 1-inch segments
  • 3 inch Ceylon Cinnamon Do not use Cassia Cinnamon
  • ¼ cup Oil (peanut, safflower, sunflower or canola) If using olive oil do not let it burn
Cooking the Curry
  • 12 pieces Boneless chicken segments, whole or cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 6 tbsp Coconut milk powder, mixed into 2 cups water Or 2 cups canned coconut milk
  • 2 tsp Lime juice
  • Salt Adjust to taste
  • Chicken broth (low salt) Optional, add as needed to make the curry gravy thinner if desired

Equipment

  • Heavy bottomed pot with lid
  • Frying pan
  • Cutting board and sharp knife
  • Spice/coffee grinder

Method
 

  1. Combine all the Spice Mix ingredients in a frying pan and dry roast over medium-high heat until the spices darken and become fragrant. Approximately 6 – 8 minutes. Do not allow to burn. Set aside to cool.
  2. Grind the cooled spice mix into a powder. Grind in batches if necessary.
  3. Coat the chicken in ½ the ground spice mix, cover and let stand while you prepare the base. Always wash your hands after touching chicken.
  4. Heat oil on a medium-high heat in a large heavy bottomed pot. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Do not allow to carmelize.
  5. After onions soften, add the paprika/chillie powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
  6. Recuce heat to medium and add the tomatoes and chilies. Stir lightly.
  7. Add the spice-marinating chicken to the pot with the curry base. Stir to coat the chicken with the curry base and add the pandanus leaf, Ceylon cinnamon, and lime juice.
  8. Cover and cook on a medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  9. Add the coconut milk to the chicken, stir, replace the lid and allow to cook for another 10 minutes on medium-low heat:
    1. If you want more gravy add some optional chicken stock
    2. If you are cooking white and dark meat chicken remove the white meat chicken and set aside
  10. Cook another 8 minutes on medium-high heat. If you removed white meat chicken add it back into the pot. Cook for 2 minutes. Add salt if needed. Serve.
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