The Best Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

If you’re looking for the BEST chicken curry recipe, then this authentic Sri Lankan Chicken Curry recipe will tick all the boxes! I’ve also provided some tips on how to cook this incredibly flavorful chicken curry and how to adapt it to your taste!

The BEST Chicken Curry recipe you’ll ever need!

If there’s one dish that I could quite literally make with my eyes closed, this is it. This Sri Lankan Chicken Curry is one that I make and have made AT LEAST once a week for many years now. It’s quintessential comfort food for K and myself, and we are instantly reminded of Sri Lanka, of our childhood, of home, of full and comforting meals, every time we eat this Sri Lankan chicken curry.

We do like any kind of curry, but this chicken curry really is our go-to. Besides, chicken curry is probably the most common type of curry eaten in Sri Lanka and any other part of the world for that matter.

If you’re new to the world of curries, or even if you are a seasoned pro, this curry is  must try!

Why you should make this amazing chicken curry

• This is an easy recipe that is also truly authentic!
• Many recipes use store bought curry powders, that change the flavor of the curry depending on the brand. This is CONSISTENTLY delicious, because YOU MAKE the curry powder.
• While it is authentic, it is also so adaptable! Don’t have coconut milk – no problem! Don’t like chili? No problem! Don’t have tomatoes? Just don’t add it!
• This is a step by step recipe, so it’s easy to follow even for novice cooks.

A great Sri Lankan chicken curry is a very versatile and easy to make dish. Sure, there are plenty of slow cooker versions and quick versions of this chicken curry that you could find online with a google search. These recipes mostly employ the “dump and cook” method of adding all the ingredients into one pot at the same time and then cooking all the way through. That’s how you get the difference between a mediocre chicken curry and a truly mind-blowingly flavorful curry! HOW you cook the curry determines the flavors just as much as the ingredients.

So here I’ll share the inside scoop, some of the well-known “secrets” to cooking a fantastic chicken curry. Plus, I’ll also share some variations to standard Sri Lankan chicken curry as well.

Sri Lankan chicken curries (or other curries) can be made in one of two ways.

• “කිරට” (kirata = milky). A chicken curry made with coconut milk, and can be less spicy, richer in taste because of the creamy coconut milk component. OR
• “මිරිසට” (mirisata = chili/spicy). A chicken curry made without coconut milk, so can be spicier, and lighter.

You can easily adapt this same chicken curry recipe to make either of these versions of chicken curry. We prefer the “kirata” style with the coconut milk that is a richer tasting curry because of the coconut milk. However, we make the “mirisata” style more often so that I don’t use too much coconut milk in everyday cooking.

Can I make a whole chicken curry or can I use boneless chicken?

You can make this chicken curry with bone-in pieces from a whole chicken, or just bone-in pieces of just chicken legs or chicken thighs. Or for convenience, you can just use boneless pieces of chicken. Obviously, boneless chicken will cook faster, and is my choice when I want to cook a quick curry that can be ready in less than 30 minutes. BUT, a GOOD chicken curry uses bone-in chicken pieces because the bones flavor the curry sauce (or as we call it – curry gravy).

If you’re using boneless chicken, I recommend using the red meat over white meat of chicken. Chicken thighs (red meat) has more flavor and won’t overcook easily and can withstand the cooking time.

For a healthier option you can use sliced boneless chicken breasts too. But make sure to cook them for a shorter amount of time OR braise them for a longer time to make it tender. Otherwise the pieces will be too dry.

To cook with sliced chicken breasts for a quick curry, make sure to make the curry sauce FIRST and then add the chicken at the end and only cook it until the chicken is cooked through.

Some choose to remove the chicken skin to lessen the fat in the chicken curry as well. I have always loved eating the skin, so I compromise and add half with the skin, and half without. So that’s totally up to you!

Curry Powder for this Chicken Curry

Arguably, curry powder is the most important ingredient for this chicken curry. So, I use my own homemade ROASTED Sri Lankan curry powder to make this delicious chicken curry. It’s made with,

• Coriander seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Black peppercorns
• Cardamom seeds from cardamom pods
• Mustard seeds
• Cloves
• Fennel seeds

It’s got a robust flavor and is the perfect combination of spices for any curry, especially for classic Sri Lankan curries. And since it’s not a very spicy curry powder, you can control how much chili powder you add as well. The first four ingredients mentioned above, are crucial for a curry powder. I sometimes leave out the mustard and fennel seeds out from this curry powder and still get fantastic results.

I would highly recommend making this curry powder for this curry. You can use store bought curry powders too, but remember that you may need to adjust the amount you add depending on how strong/weak the curry powder is. Some supermarket curry powders are really quite weak, and makes your curries taste extremely bland. So taste and adjust if that’s the case.

Is this Sri Lankan chicken curry spicy?

Yes, we usually add 2 tsp of cayenne pepper (yup! that’s TWO teaspoons, we really do like it spicy), and 1 tbsp of regular (not sweet or smoked) paprika. In Sri Lanka, you’d only use chili powder that is pretty strong, and very vibrant in color, so it flavors the curry while making it beautifully red colored as well.

The additional cinnamon stick adds a nice sweet spiciness that also helps balance the heat.

BUT, you can adjust the spice level in this curry. 

If you’re not a fan of spicy, you can adjust this level to suit your preferences.

You can add less black pepper to the curry powder. Don’t eliminate it completely because black pepper is an important part of this Sri Lankan chicken curry.

If you want that characteristic red color of the curry, but not the heat, then increase the paprika and reduce the cayenne pepper. But if you can handle spicy curries, or prefer them that way, then go ahead and add 2 tsp of cayenne pepper as I do.

And if you choose not to add chili powder/cayenne pepper OR the paprika, that will be fine too. The result will be a very mild Sri Lankan chicken curry, that’ll be mostly brown in color (and not a red curry), with a slight red tinge (from the tomatoes), but it will still be just as delicious without the heat.

What an authentic Sri Lankan curry should be

To me and my family, a basic, authentic Sri Lankan chicken curry,

• is spicy (and therefore more red in color than brown),
• there’ll be some oil floating on top (especially, if the curry is made with coconut milk. The coconut milk is cooked with the chicken to the point where the coconut milk splits and the oil separates from the milk).
• The gravy is just so damn flavorful, you can drink it on its own!

This Sri Lankan chicken curry ticks all the boxes! It’s a versatile recipe that you can adapt to your taste and still be absolutely delicious.

Here are some tips + variations to follow to make the BEST Sri Lankan chicken curry.

• For best results, use a whole chicken cut into pieces, OR bone-in chicken (like legs or thighs).
• Use Sri Lankan curry powder. If you can’t find it, you can easily make your own following this recipe. Lots of recipes will say that you can use madras curry powder, but that tastes different from Sri Lankan curry powder, and will not give you authentic results. Sri Lankan curry powder has a lot of coriander seeds, and doesn’t have turmeric. You can substitute Sri Lankan curry powder with madras curry powder if you really must, but just remember that the taste will be different. I recommend making your own Sri Lankan curry powder, which genuinely tastes better and is quite versatile too.
• Since there is pepper in the curry powder, you do not need to season with salt and pepper at the end too. Just season with salt to your taste.
• Use coconut oil and good quality coconut milk whenever possible.
• After you cook the chicken curry, let the chicken curry sit for a while. This allows the chicken to absorb the flavors of the curry gravy. This is why this chicken curry tastes even better the next day.
• Curry leaves are preferred for curries, but if you can’t find them you can use bay leaves or pandan leaves.
• Layer the flavors for best results – don’t dump in all the ingredients at once. Soften the onions and garlic and ginger first before adding the spices. This lets different flavors grow and strengthen. Using roasted spices adds an extra layer of flavors.
• For an added twist (which is not traditional) – roast the chicken curry in the oven towards the end. It caramelizes the chicken (which you cannot do on the stove-top), giving it an extra layer of texture that enhances the flavor.
• This is more of a caution than a tip. Be mindful of your preferred spice levels. Adjust the cayenne pepper to your taste.

How to serve this Chicken Curry

We serve it with rice and some vegetable side dishes. My favorite is beetroot curry! I always loved chicken curry and beetroot curry together. I highly recommend that combination of sweet beetroot curry with the spicy chicken curry.

Another option is to serve it with roti. Sri Lankans love and prefer to eat Pol roti, which is a flat bread made with coconut and wheat flour. But we also love godhambara roti (or roti canai / roti paratha), and maybe even some naan bread if we have some at home.

If you have chicken curry leftover, here is my absolute favorite way to re-purpose them! Turn it into Sri Lankan Chicken Kottu Roti – a very popular Sri Lankan street food!

You can also make a really easy chicken curry fried rice or a curried chicken salad sandwich too!

If you’re a fan of curries and Sri Lankan food, then you may love these recipes too!

• Sri Lankan Crab Curry
• Sri Lankan Shrimp Curry (Prawn Curry)
• Authentic Black Pork Curry 
• Cashew Curry (VEGAN)
• Mango Curry (VEGAN)
• Sweet and Spicy Apple Curry (VEGAN)
• Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry

EQUIPMENT & TOOLS I USED FOR THIS RECIPE

Sharp knife to cut a whole chicken into pieces.

Spice grinder to make the curry powder – I like to use an inexpensive coffee grinder to make my spice powders.