Sri Lankan Curry Chicken

Thank you for the recipe Gayan's Mom!

I acquired this recipe from a colleagues mom at the place of my last major employ. She gave me a small jar of traditional meat curry shipped in from her homeland of Sri Lanka. I have no idea where to buy it, but I imagine the dish can be made successfully with other curry powders as well. I changed it only slightly, adding some neutral vegetables and not marinating the meat due to time restrictions.

Start by sauteing a small amount of onion in oil over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts cut into approximately one inch (2.5cm) cubes, ginger, garlic, hot sauce (recipe called for chili powder), vinegar, meat curry, and 1/4C water to help the chicken cook. Stir well to ensure chicken is evenly coated. When the water has nearly disappeared, add coconut milk (400ml), zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes, the recipe says.

I found after 5 minutes the chicken was cooked, but the sauce wasn't thick enough for me. So I removed the chicken and zucchini pieces and reduced the sauce for a few more minutes until I was happy with it. I realized at this point that this is a dish to eat on top of something else. I hurriedly put a pot of salted water on to boil and made macaroni. When the sauce is done, add the meat back with a handful of spinach. Serve over hasty macaroni.

Food from distant land looks much tastier for the domestic spinach and zucchini.

Macaroni was a good choice, but rice may have been a better one, at least more traditional. It soaked up the coconut sauce into its elbow holes. I really like the taste of this curry. It is sharp, pungent, complex, and dark brown in colour. I love this dish! I thought coconut milk was sweet, having never cooked with it before, but this wasn't at all. If I find out where to buy this curry, I'll let you know. This one might be close.