Adam Liaw's easy Sri Lankan chicken curry

Name: Adam Liaw's easy Sri Lankan chicken curry
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: ¼ cup vegetable oil; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 6 cardamom pods; ½ tsp cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 15-20 fresh curry leaves; 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped; 2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 1 brown onion, peeled and diced; 2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 2 tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp chilli powder (optional); 800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5cm pieces; 1 tsp salt; 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped; 2 red or green bird's eye chillies (optional); 200ml coconut cream; juice of 2 limes

Adam Liaw

March 4, 2022

Time:30 mins - 1 hourServes:6

Not all curries need to be rich, slow stews. Many south Indian and Sri Lankan curries are light and quick. This chicken curry is in more of a Sri Lankan vein, with a thin but rich gravy taking sour notes from lime and tomato.

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
6 cardamom pods
½ tsp cloves
1 cinnamon stick
15-20 fresh curry leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 brown onion, peeled and diced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp chilli powder (optional)
800g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5cm pieces
1 tsp salt
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 red or green bird's eye chillies (optional)
200ml coconut cream
juice of 2 limes

Method

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the vegetable oil, fennel seeds, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Fry for about 1 minute, then add the curry leaves.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and onion and fry for about 4 minutes until fragrant and the onion starts to brown. Add the cumin, coriander, pepper, turmeric and chilli powder (if using) and stir well.
3. Add the chicken, salt, tomatoes and fresh chilli (if using) and stir well. Add the coconut cream and about ½ a cup of water. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Stir through the lime juice and serve.
Also try: Adam Liaw's green bean curry