How to cook traditional Sri Lankan Chicken Curry – recipe plus tips from Manu Feildel & Sri Lankan-Australian Meena.

Sri Lankan-Australian Meena recently teamed up with celebrity chef Manu Feildel to cook a traditional Sri Lankan Chicken Curry at Ingham's Murarrie Processing Plant in Brisbane. Here we share this delicious recipe and three top tips to cook mouthwatering curries at home.

RECIPE: MEENA'S SRI LANKAN CHICKEN CURRY

Serves 4, prep 10 minutes, Cook 50 minutes

Ingredients 

1kg Boneless chicken thighs – cut into 5cm chunks

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

2 tablespoons fresh ginger paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 sprig sticks curry leaves

1 stick cinnamon

1 brown onion, finely diced

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

3 long green chilies, slit, seeds removed

2 tablespoons Sri Lankan Curry Powder (Meena recommends Kings Curry Powder)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

¹⁄2 cup (125ml) coconut milk

Steamed basmati rice and roti bread to serve

Method

1. In a bowl combine chicken, turmeric powder and ginger and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add curry leaves, cinnamon stick and cook for 2 minutes. Add onions and cook for a further 7–8 minutes until fragrant and translucent.
3. Add tomatoes, chilies, tomato paste and cook until tomato has softened. Add curry powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add marinated chicken pieces, mix through and fry for 5 minutes until chicken is cooked. Followed by coconut milk and ¹⁄􀏿 cup (60ml) water, season with salt flakes.
4. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes or until curry has reduced. Serve with steamed rice and roti bread.

Follow along with Manu and Meena as they cook this recipe in a YouTube short, and download Ingham’s ‘Farm to Fork with Manu’ free e-book to get this recipe plus 11 more. 

THREE TIPS TO MAKE MOUTHWATERING  CURRIES: 

1. Cook your spices first. For Meena’s Sri Lankan Chicken Curry, cook oil, curry leaves and a cinnamon stick first, then add onion, tomatoes and curry mix before adding chicken.
2. Choose chicken thighs – they are more flavourful and moist compared to chicken breasts and stay more tender.
3. Simmering is key as this allows flavours to develop. Meena’s chicken curry recipe includes 30 minutes of simmering time.

For more tips from Manu and Meena to cook curries like a chef at home, read this blog.