Sri Lankan chicken curry

Serves: 4-5

Ingredients

For the roasted Sri Lankan curry powder

1 tbsp uncooked long grain or basmati rice
50g/2oz coriander seeds
25g/1oz cumin seeds
25g/1oz fennel seeds
7.5cm/3in piece cinnamon stick
1½ tsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp cardamom seeds (from about 10 green cardamom pods)
½ tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 dried red Kashmiri chillies

For the Sri Lankan turkey curry

2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil
15cm/6in cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces
10 cardamom pods, bruised
10 cloves
350g/12¼oz onions or shallots, peeled, cut in half, thinly sliced
40g/1½oz garlic, peeled, crushed to a paste with the edge of a knife
25g/1oz fresh root ginger, peeled, finely grated
2 tbsp roasted Sri Lankan curry powder (see above)
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
400g/7oz canned chopped tomatoes
20 fresh curry leaves
4 x 4cm/1½in pieces pandan leaf (available from some Asian grocers)
1 fat lemongrass stalk, tough outer leaves removed, cut in half, lightly bruised with the edge of a knife
2 green cayenne chillies, split open lengthways and one deseeded
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tbsp brown sugar
400ml/14fl oz canned coconut milk
750g-1250g chicken (or turkey)
1 freshly squeezed lime
salt and freshly ground black pepper
steamed rice, to serve

Method

1. For the roasted Sri Lankan curry powder, heat a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the uncooked rice and cook for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until the rice is toasted and pale golden-brown. Transfer the toasted rice to a large mortar or spice grinder and set aside to cool.

2. Repeat the dry-frying process with the spices, then tip into a bowl and set aside to cool.

3. Repeat the dry-frying process with the dried chillies, then tip into a bowl and set aside to cool.

4. When the toasted rice, spices and chillies have cooled, grind them to a fine powder (do this in batches if necessary). Store the roasted Sri Lankan curry powder in an airtight jar for up to three months.

5. For the curry, brown off the chicken pieces and set aside for later.

6. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and cloves and fry for 15-20 seconds, or until fragrant.

7. Fry onions for 4-5 minutes (until softened and pale golden-brown).

8. Add garlic and ginger, stir well to combine, and fry 2-3 minutes.

9. Add two tablespoons roasted curry powder, one teaspoon each chilli powder and ground turmeric. Fry for one minute.

10. Add the chopped tomatoes, curry leaves, pieces of pandan leaf, lemongrass stalk, cayenne chillies and salt. Cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes (or until the curry sauce has thickened).

11. Add chicken pieces and continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes.

12. Add the coconut milk and sugar, return the mixture to a simmer and continue to simmer for 4-5 minutes.

13. Stir in the lime juice and remove the pan from the heat. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes:

For this recipe, you only need a small amount of the roasted Sri Lankan curry powder. The remaining curry powder can be stored in a screw-top jar for up to three months and used in other recipes.

(by Rick Stein)