First , let me tell you how I learned how to make this Chicken Curry. Back when I was at university in Manila I knew of Victor, an engineering student from Sri Lanka who at that time was trying to impress a girl I was friends with. As you probably know, Sri Lanka is very famous for their curries. Victor cooked this super delicious Chicken Curry for us one time. It was knock your socks off spicy and highly aromatic with potatoes carrots and capsicum simmered in rich coconut cream, supposedly guaranteed to win someone’s affection. Unfortunately for Victor, he didn’t win the girl, but his delicious Chicken Curry dish will live forever in my memory.
It’s now a favourite in ours and I make it if I’m craving something homely and comforting but easily put together. I have of course toned the heat a little bit, because although our family loves spicy, we can’t have smoke coming out of our ears at every meal.
What you need..
This dish is best made with bone-in , skin-on chicken pieces to ensure chicken stays juicy after the simmering that is required in this dish. I usually make this with a whole chicken cut up to give you eight pieces. You could of course use boneless thigh but I don’t recommend breast as it has a tendency to dry up.
- Pantry Staples – onion,garlic,ginger curry powder ( a good one to use is Keen’s Brand Traditional Curry Powder), coconut cream, chicken stock cube or Vegeta, tomato paste, fish sauce ,salt and pepper to taste
- Veggies to add – Potatoes,carrots,capsicum,peas and some chillis if you want it spicy.
How to Cook it…
- Sauté the garlic,onion, curry powder and ginger in a little bit of oil on medium heat until fragrant.
- Add the chicken pieces to the pan. Brown on both sides.
- Add coconut cream to deglaze the pan, then tomato paste potato and carrots.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken and potatoes are cooked.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and cook a further 2 minutes.
How to serve Chicken Curry
This dish has a lovely thick sauce and it goes so well with plain boiled rice. You got to serve it with rice! At a stretch, maybe some bread rolls or flat bread like naan but you got to have something that lets you enjoy every spoonful of that gorgeous curry sauce. Serve with a green salad and some pickles and you’ve got yourself a lovely comforting meal.
Victor’s Chicken Curry
4
servings10
minutes35
minutesChicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
1 chicken cut up into pieces
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion sliced finely
8 cloves garlic,peeled and minced
3 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tomato,diced
1 chicken stock cube or 1 teaspoon Vegeta
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and julienned
1 can 395g coconut cream
4 potatoes,peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 carrot, sliced into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 red capsicum (pepper) diced into 1 inch pieces
A handful of frozen peas about 1/3 cup
Salt and pepper to taste
1 -2 chilli sliced, optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 160°C. In an oven proof pan on medium heat, sauté garlic onion and ginger with cooking oil. Cook until onion is transparent.
- Add curry powder and stir thru.
- Add chicken pieces to the pan and stir together to coat chicken with curry mix.
- Cook on medium until chicken are lightly browned. Turn chicken pieces over to brown the other side. Season with fish sauce.
- Pour half of the coconut cream and tomato paste on top of the chicken pieces. Use a spoon to hold back most of the creamy coconut that sits on top of the coconut cream. You’ll add this later at the last stage of cooking.
- Add potatoes diced tomatoes and carrots. Transfer pan to the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are cooked.
- Add the rest of the coconut cream , chicken stock cube , then add capsicum, frozen peas and sliced chillies if using. Cook another 2 minutes until the peas are warmed thru. Correct seasoning by adding more salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove from heat and served hot with rice and pickles.
Notes
- Serve with rice and some pickles
