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JAFFNA CURRY POWDER CHICKEN CURRY

Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder, a spicy chicken curry to serve with your rice and curry.

You’ve made your Jaffna curry powder, now let’s cook a spicy chicken curry worthy of the curry powder.

Be prepared to sweat, enjoy and savour this delicious chicken curry recipe that is everything you look forward to in Sri Lankan cuisine.

Especially when it comes to this meat dish, seasoned with homemade Jaffna curry powder.

With a dark brown gravy rich in spices, this chicken curry is ideal for anyone who loves spicy food.

Furthermore, your rice and curry dish will taste better with this hot chicken curry.

jaffna chicken curry made with jaffna curry powder with pandan leaves and green chillies.

I mentioned my favourite curry powder and how much I loved cooking meat curries using Jaffna curry powder.

If you missed my post on it, I would recommend reading it and making a jar of the spice blend.

I promise you won’t regret it.

For those of you who like to eat extra spicy food, this is for you.

It’s slow-cooked and comes together in a single pot using a few extra spices and ingredients to enhance the taste of the curry.

So let’s get cooking…

jaffna chicken curry cooked in a pan with pandan leaves and green chillies.
jaffna chicken curry with chicken legs.
  • How spicy is the Jaffna chicken curry?
    • If you don’t love spicy food and stay away from them then the chicken curry can be quite spicy. the Jaffna curry powder has a double dose of whole dried chill blended into it. this gives the curry powder its dark colour and punch.
    • You can add coconut milk and reduce the amount of curry powder for a milder version.
  • Can I use coconut milk for this chicken curry?
    • Although using coconut milk is an option.
    • For this recipe, I am not using coconut milk as I want to keep the dish spicy which in turn makes the gravy thinner than usual.
    • Adding coconut milk will certainly give you a thicker and richer gravy but will certainly reduce the spiciness of the dish. Hence, no coconut milk.
  • How do I add coconut milk to the chicken curry?
    • If you do use coconut milk, here’s how you do it.
    • Instead of adding water where the recipe instruction mentions adding liquid,
    • Pour in 1/2 a cup OR 1 cup of coconut milk (depending on how much gravy you want).
    • Season with salt accordingly and slow-cook until you have a thick gravy with tender spicy chicken.
  • Can I use chicken breast or other parts to make the chicken curry?
    • Yes, you can but I would recommend using bone-in parts as the flavours of the curry powder are more enhanced.
  • If I do cook a whole chicken, can I use all the parts?

Yes, except for the wing tip, I include all parts of the chicken including the gizzard, neck, etc.

jaffna chicken curry with jaffna curry powder flavours.
  • Chopping board
  • Knife/ cleaver
  • large bowl to marinate.
  • large pot to cook the curry.

Sri Lankan chicken curry recipe

Sri Lankan devilled chicken.

Sri Lankan pepper chicken curry.

Chicken ambulthiyal

Chicken and potato curry

Use glass containers or old containers with lids to store as the curry powder stains. refrigerate and consume within 2-3 days.

Can be frozen for up to 3 weeks. let the chicken curry completely cool before storing.

Remove curry from the freezer, let it reach room temperature and then heat over stovetop or microwave, use microwave cover to avoid splattering.

Stop food waste by cooking only as much as you need, the rest can be stored in the fridge or frozen to be used later in the week.

thick jaffna chicken curry with spices.

The ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

1 whole chicken, washed, cleaned, and cut into the required size( 700g- 1kg)

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of fresh pepper powder

3 tablespoons of Jaffna curry powder(you can add 1 more tablespoon if you can handle the heat)

Salt to season

2 tablespoons of tamarind soaked in 1/4 of a cup of water(if using tamarind paste,1 tablespoon should do)

3 tablespoons of oil

A sprig of curry leaves

A long piece of Pandan leaf

2 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste

1 large onion finely sliced

1 medium-sized chopped Tomato

3 whole green chillies split in the middle

1 piece of cinnamon (1inch)

4 slightly bruised cardamoms

If you’ve never cut a chicken before, use this post on how to cut a whole chicken as a reference.

Add the cleaned and washed chicken parts to a bowl. Make sure to drain any excess water.

Add the turmeric powder(1 tsp), Jaffna curry powder(3 tbsp, add 1 more tbsp if you can handle the heat), pepper powder(1 and 1/2 tbsp), salt to season, and tamarind juice(2 tbsp tamarind soaked in 1/4 of a cup of water, if using tamarind paste,1 tablespoon should do) to the chicken parts.

adding spices to the chicken parts to marinate for the jaffna chicken curry.

Combine, cover, and set aside for 15-20 minutes(as long as you can).

Cover and refrigerate if you are marinating the chicken parts for more than 30 minutes.

marinated chicken parts ready to be cooked into a chicken curry.

Place a wok or a pan large enough to hold chicken parts and gravy, and let it heat over medium fire for a few seconds.

Pour in the oil(3 tbsp), then in the given order, add curry leaves(a sprig, substitute with 1 bay leaf), pandan leaf, onions(1 large onion sliced fine), tomatoes(1 medium), cinnamon(1″ piece), ginger-garlic paste(2 tbsp), cardamom(4), green chilies(3).

Sauté the ingredients over medium heat(less than 5 minutes)or until they release their aroma.

cooking the onions, garlic, green chillies, pandan leaves, ginger in oil.

As the ingredients sauté, take out the marinating chicken pieces and gradually add these to the pan with tempering ingredients.

adding the marinated chicken parts to the cooking spices.

Do not throw away whatever marinade liquid is left, we will be adding it to the curry later.

Combine and let the chicken semi-fry with the tempering ingredients in the pan over medium heat for at least 7-10 minutes.

Try to brown the chicken as much as you can while avoiding the chicken sticking to the pan. For this purpose, you can add a tablespoon of oil. for 10-15 minutes.

cooked chicken parts ready to be cooked into a jaffna curry powder chicken curry.

Once the chicken turns slightly golden at the edges, pour the left-over marinade into the pan.

Then, add one and a half cups of water(depending on how much gravy you need, you can reduce it to one cup).

cooking the jaffna chicken curry with the marinade.

(If you prefer to add coconut milk and give it a creamier flavour, instead of adding water as instructed above, add a cup of coconut milk and continue with the instructions given below).

adding coconut milk to the chicken curry cooked in spices.

Cover and slowly simmer the curry for 45 minutes.

20 minutes into slow-simmering, check for taste, and season with salt if necessary.

spicy jaffna curry powder chicken curry with pandan leaves and thick gravy.

Avoid increasing heat to cook the chicken faster, maintain low-medium heat, and slow-cook until gravy reaches your desired consistency.

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Sri Lankan jaffna curry powder-chicken curry.

Sri Lankan jaffna curry powder-chicken curry.

Yield: 5
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Sri Lankan Jaffna curry powder spicy chicken curry.

You’ve made your Jaffna curry powder, now let’s make a spicy chicken curry worthy of the curry powder.

Be prepared to sweat, enjoy and savor this delicious chicken curry recipe that is everything you look forward to in Sri Lankan cuisine.

Ingredients

  • Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.
  • 1 whole chicken, washed, cleaned and cut into required size( 700g- 1kg)
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of fresh pepper powder
  • 3 tablespoons of Jaffna curry powder(you can add 1 more tablespoon if you can handle the heat)
  • Salt to season
  • 2 tablespoons of tamarind soaked in 1/4 of a cup of water(if using tamarind paste,1 tablespoon should do)
  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • A sprig of curry leaves(substitute with 1 bay leaf)
  • A long piece of Pandan leaf
  • 2 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 large onion finely sliced
  • 1 medium-sized chopped Tomato
  • 3 whole green chillies split in the middle
  • 1 piece of Cinnamon (1inch)
  • 4 slightly bruised Cardamoms

Instructions

  1. If you’ve never cut a chicken before, use this post on how to cut a whole chicken as a reference.

How to marinate the chicken parts

  1. Add the cleaned and washed chicken parts to a bowl. Make sure to drain any excess water.
  2. Add the turmeric powder(1 tsp), Jaffna curry powder(3 tbsp, add 1 more tbsp if you can handle the heat), pepper powder(1 and 1/2 tbsp), salt to season, and tamarind juice(2 tbsp tamarind soaked in 1/4 of a cup of water, if using tamarind paste,1 tablespoon should do) to the chicken parts.
  3. Combine, cover, and set aside for 15-20 minutes(as long as you can).
  4. Cover and refrigerate if you are marinating the chicken parts for more than 30 minutes.

How to cook spicy chicken curry

  1. Place a wok or a pan large enough to hold chicken parts and gravy, let it heat over medium fire for a few seconds.
  2. Pour in the oil(3 tbsp), then in the given order, add curry leaves(a sprig, substitute with 1 bay leaf), pandan leaf, onions(1 large onion sliced fine), tomatoes(1 medium), cinnamon(1″ piece), ginger-garlic paste(2 tbsp), cardamom(4), green chilies(3).
  3. Sauté the ingredients over medium heat(less than 5 minutes)or until they release their aroma.
  4. As the ingredients sauté, take out the marinating chicken pieces and gradually add these to the pan with tempering ingredients.
  5. Do not throw away whatever marinade liquid is left, we will be adding it to the curry later.
  6. Combine and let the chicken semi-fry with the tempering ingredients in the pan over medium heat for at least 7-10 minutes.
  7. Try to brown the chicken as much as you can while avoiding the chicken sticking to the pan. For this purpose, you can add a tablespoon of oil. for 10-15 minutes.
  8. Once the chicken turns slightly golden at the edges, pour the left-over marinade into the pan.
  9. Then, add one and a half cups of water(depending on how much gravy you need, you can reduce it to one cup).
  10. (If you prefer to add coconut milk and give it a creamier flavour, instead of adding water as instructed above, add a cup of coconut milk and continue with the instructions given below).
  11. Cover and slowly simmer the curry for 45 minutes.
  12. 20 minutes into slow-simmering, check for taste, and season with salt if necessary.
  13. Avoid increasing heat to cook the chicken faster, maintain low-medium heat, and slow-cook until gravy reaches your desired consistency.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 429Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 323mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 34g

Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.

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Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability with you in mind.
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Vani

Monday 1st of June 2020

Looks like a good recipe. Just a note that might be interesting, it's not at all common in Jaffna to use tamarind in meat curries. We use tamarind in fish curries, but I've yet to see anyone from Jaffna use it in chicken. Instead, we add a squeeze of lime, often towards the end of the cooking so that the brightness isn't lost by cooking it too long.

I was very intrigued to find your chicken curry recipes using tamarind, so I tried your 'Spicy Sri lankan Chicken- Coconut Curry' yesterday and it came out quite nicely. I may use that technique again in the future, but not for the Jaffna chicken curry ;)

jehan

Monday 8th of June 2020

oh, that's an interesting titbit I didn't know, thank you. I Will need to add that information for my readers on the recipe post so thank you. Glad you liked the chicken curry with the tamarind juice and it worked well for you. I will try adding lime juice for the Jaffna curry chicken powder and would be interesting to see if there is any taste difference in it. apologies again for not writing to you sooner. Regards J

elizabeth mathew

Sunday 24th of May 2020

Can I make this without the pandan leaf? will it affect the taste a lot? Or can i replace it with like lemongrass?

jehan

Sunday 24th of May 2020

Hi, yes you can make it without pandan leaf rather than replacing it with lemongrass as they both have different flavor profiles. The closest substitute for pandan would be bay leaves if you have any.

Wendy

Thursday 20th of June 2019

I can not find the recipe for the Jaffna curry powder anywhere

jehan

Thursday 20th of June 2019

https://www.islandsmile.org/sri-lankan-jaffna-curry-powder/ Hi Wendy, Above is the link to the Jaffna curry powder recipe. The link has also been added to the Jaffna curry powder chicken curry on the first paragraph of the recipe post. hope this helps. regards j

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