Are you bored of the same type of chicken dishes? And do you want to try something new, something spicier, for dinner tonight? Then we bet this simple yet flavorful Sri Lankan chicken curry powder recipe will bring your entire family a fresh, warmer experience! This spice blend is ideal for making heartier meat dishes that you can enjoy with plain rice or bread,

Chicken curry powder is undoubtedly the most piquant spice blend that you’ll find in Sri Lankan cuisine. It requires a long list of ingredients. But we insist that it pays off the effort! Let’s grab the ingredients and move on to the recipe.

If you want to learn about Sri Lankan curry powder and how it could add a distinctive flavor twist to your meals, click this link and refer to our informative article.

Simple And Easy Homemade Sri Lankan Chicken Curry Powder Recipe!

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Recipe by SpiceRally

Servings

2.5

cups

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

This exclusive SpiceRally Sri lankan chicken curry powder is a formula passed down for generations. So that we have hands-on experience, the flavor and freshness are unmistakably guaranteed! You could adjust the ingredients and prepare this blend to suit your palate- follow the steps correctly.

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Ingredients

Spices & Herbs
1 cup 1 Coriander seeds
1/2 cup 1/2 Cumin seeds
1/4 cup 1/4 Fennel seeds
1 tsp 1 Black mustard seeds
1 tsp 1 Fenugreek seeds
2 tsp 2 Black peppercorns
15 15 Dried red chiles (cut/ broken into pieces)
4 4 Cloves
2 tsp 2 Garlic powder
2 tsp 2 Onion powder
1 tsp 1 Ginger powder
5 pods 5 Green cardamom
1 piece 1 Cinnamon (about a 1-inch piece)
4 sprigs 4 Curry leaves
1 piece 1 Pandan leaves (about a 2-inch piece)
1 piece 1 Lemongrass (about a 1-inch piece from the stalk, cut into chunks)
Other Ingredients
1 tbsp 1 Desiccated coconut
1 tsp 1 White Basmati rice (uncooked)
Equipment
1 1 Saucepan
1 1 Wooden Spatula
1 1 Grinder
1 1 Air-tight glass container
1 1 Plate (large)
1 1 Kitchen towel
1 1 Mesh sieve

Directions

First, heat the pan over medium-low flame and add the uncooked white basmati rice. Toast the rice grains until brown and aromatic. Remove rice from the pan and transfer it to a separate large plate.
Then, toast the desiccated coconut until fragrant and changes to a golden brown color. Take them off the pan and put them on the same plate as the rice grains.
Next, extract the curry leaves from the sprigs and put them in the hot pan, along with the pandan leaves and the chunks of lemongrass. Break the pandan leaves into smaller pieces so they will take a little time to toast. Watch them out, as they tend to burn soon. Take the curry leaves, lemongrass, and pandan leaves out of the pan and put them on the plate once crunchy and aromatic.
After toasting the herbs, add the dried red chiles to the same pan and toast until they emit a smoky perfume. At this point, you should see the chile pieces are very lightly charred. Do not let the chiles burn or turn out their color entirely. Transfer them to the plate to cool down.
Next, toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, and black peppercorns separately until brown and fragrant. Remove them from the pan after toasting and put them away on the plate.
Then, add the green cardamom pods to the same pan and let them toast for about 30 seconds, then add the cloves and cinnamon to the same toasting session and remove them all at once when everything is brown and fragrant. Transfer them to the spice plate.
As the last toasting session, add the black mustard seeds and toast them until they start popping. Remove them from the pan and spoon them onto the plate to cool down.
Take the pan out of the flame and add garlic powder, onion powder, and ginger powder. Stir them, allowing them to toast slightly with the help of the heat of the pan. Transfer the spice powders to the plate.
Once all the ingredients are well-toasted, let them cool down on the large plate for about five more minutes.
Then, wipe the jar of your grinder with a clean kitchen towel and prepare to grind up your chicken curry powder. You can work in batches if you have a small grinder.
Pulverize everything to a fine powder until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Run the spice mixture through a fine mesh sieve and re-grind if you have large lumps of spices, herbs, and grains.
Transfer the mixture to a glass air-tight spice jar/ container immediately, and close the lid as soon as you spoon the content into the container.

Notes and suggestions

It is important to remember that maintaining the flame on medium-low heat and stirring your ingredients frequently while toasting is essential to toast the ingredients to the right point. Toasting defines the flavor, color, and aroma of this chicken curry powder recipe.
This is the spiciest curry powder type you can find in Sri Lankan cuisine. Therefore, traditionally, it contains more black pepper and red chiles. But feel free to adjust if these quantities are too intense for you. Likewise, you can adjust the amounts of cloves as well.
If you can’t find dried red chiles, substitute them with cayenne pepper powder. If you use this ingredient, make sure to toast cayenne pepper powder until it is smoky and changes color. You can use 1-2 tablespoons, depending on your choice.
You might have trouble finding curry leaves if you live in a western country. But sometimes, you might find dried curry leaves in the international spice aisle of the supermarket. However, if you’re living in the USA, you’ll find curry leaves at Patel Brothers (an Indian store) in the name of “neem leaves”. These are not the actual curry leaves used in Sri Lanka. But still, they could work in your chicken curry powder.
You can find pandan leaves in Korean stores. But feel free to skip it if you fail to find it around.
Double the ingredients if you need to make a larger batch.
Store your homemade chicken curry powder in a well-filling glass container and keep it in a cool, dry, dark place. Refrigeration is not suggested. You can keep this spice blend flavorful and aromatic for up to 1 month.