slow-cooked Sri Lankan chicken curry without coconut milk.

An easy chicken curry without coconut milk for a different kind of flavour to your meat curry.

Once in a while, I like to cook this chicken curry recipe which is only cooked in water, various spices and tempering ingredients.

If you are looking for a curry dish without coconut milk for anyone who has been advised to reduce coconut milk in their diet or anyone who has high cholesterol levels or a heart condition then this is your no-coconut milk curry dish.

Chicken curry recipe without coconut milk.

This is not a quick chicken curry recipe.

Instead, you first marinate the chicken parts in various curry powders then slow-cook for 45 to almost an hour depending on how much gravy you would want.

This slow-cooking process gives the chicken parts to absorb the flavours and give the dish its uniquely Sri Lankan curry powder flavour that you will have a chance to taste without the coconut milk.

What to serve with easy chicken curry without coconut milk.

• Here are a few rice recipes that will go well with the easy chicken curry.
  • coconut rice.
  • how to cook rice on the stove.
  • Easy lemon rice recipe.
  • vegetable fried rice(spicy).
  • ghee rice(nei choru).

• Serve with the following vegetarian side dishes.
  • Potato and green bean curry(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).
  • Pumpkin curry(Sri Lankan wattakka curry).
  • Sri Lankan Dhal(red lentil)spinach curry
  • cabbage curry with coconut milk
  • spicy green beans stir fry(bonchi thel dala).
  • Easy kankung(water spinach)stir-fry with toasted garlic.
  • Jackfruit-coconut sambol(kos mallum).
  • pol sambol(Sri Lankan Coconut Sambol).
  • Sri lankan Beetroot Curry(vegetarian, vegan).

• Serve the curry in banana leaves for a real feel of a village-style meal.
  • Here are three Sri Lankan menus so you can add this chicken curry to really enjoy a rice and curry meal. 
  • Sri Lankan lunch meal plan 1
  • Sri Lankan meal plan-2
  • Meal plan 3
  • Meal plan 4
  • Meal plan 5

Save the recipe to your favourite Pinterest board!

Utensils and appliances needed.

Chopping board and knife.
A large bowl.
A cooking pot or wok.

Workflow to make chicken curry without coconut milk.

• Have all the ingredients ready.
• Marinate the chicken.
• Temper the spices.
• Combine ingredients in the large pan.
• Slow simmer until the chicken curry is cooked.

More chicken curry recipes!

Sri Lankan chicken curry.

Sri Lankan kalupol chicken curry.

Sri Lankan pepper chicken curry

Sri Lankan ambulthiyal chicken curry.

RECIPE DIFFICULTY- LITTLE CARE NEEDED

Easy chicken curry without coconut milk

Ingredients to cook chicken curry

Marinating ingredients

700g of chicken parts(for best results use a mix of chicken parts)
2 tablespoons of red chillie powder
1 tablespoon of roasted curry powder(substitute with Jaffna curry powder)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 teaspoon of tamarind paste or 1/4 cup tamarind water(if you are soaking tamarind with seed)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Tempering ingredients
3  tablespoons of oil
1 large onion sliced fine
3 green chillies split in the middle(optional)
A sprig of curry leaves(substitute with 2 bay leaves)
2-inch piece of pandan leaf(optional)

1 teaspoon black pepper
4 garlic cloves chopped fine
1 tablespoon of minced ginger
1-inch piece of Cinnamon
3 cardamoms slightly bruised
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1 and 1/2 cup water or water until the chicken parts are covered

To thicken the gravy
2 tablespoons of coriander powder

Method

Clean, cut, remove excess fat and wash the chicken parts thoroughly and drain any excess water.

Marinating the chicken.

Place chicken parts(700g) in a large bowl.

Add chilli powder, raw curry powder(1 and 1/2tbsps), roasted curry powder(1 tbsp, substitute with Jaffna curry powder), salt to season, tamarind(1tsp), turmeric(1/2 tsp).

Make sure to combine the ingredients well.

If you are sensitive to spices, please use disposable gloves or a spoon while mixing.

Let the chicken marinate in these spices for 30-45 minutes.

How to cook the easy chicken curry.

Place a large cooking pan over low-medium heat and pour in the oil(3 tbs).

Once the oil heats, add onions(1 large), curry leaves, green chillies(3), pandan leaf, ginger(1tbsp), garlic(4 pods sliced), cinnamon(1-inch piece), cardamom(3)and temper the ingredients for 3-5 minutes or until the aroma is released.

Once the spices are cooked, add mustard seed(1/2tsp)and temper until it pops.

Maintain low-medium heat.

Add the marinated chicken to the tempered ingredients in the cooking pan.

Combine thoroughly and slow simmer for 15-20 minutes or until there is less liquid.

At this point decide if you want, fry the chicken slightly to lock in the spice flavours.

To do this, pour in a tablespoon of oil(not added to the ingredient list)to fry the chicken slightly for 5 minutes.

Use low-medium fire or continue to the next step below if you prefer not to.

Pour in the water, stir, check for seasoning and continue to slow simmer.

How to thicken the curry gravy.

15-20 minutes into cooking time, check the curry.

Use a spoon to scoop a little gravy, raise it and slowly pour it back into the pan.

If the gravy looks too waterish as you pour it back, add 1-2 tablespoons(not more)of coriander powder to thicken the gravy. 

As you slow cook the chicken you will notice the thin gravy gradually thicken and reduces.

(keep in mind that the gravy without coconut milk is still lighter and doesn’t thicken to a sauce-like consistency).

Taste and season with salt if needed.

Slow-cook the easy chicken curry for 30 minutes or until the correct consistency(as mentioned above)is reached.

Remove from stove, let cool for 5 minutes and serve while still warm.

JOIN ME ON ISLANDSMILE YOUTUBE CHANNEL

LOVE SEAFOOD? COME JOIN ME ON MY NEW SEAFOOD BLOG

Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability with you in mind.
It’s free and on the blog, for you to try anytime.

 All I ask is that you do not save it on any apps, recipe boxes or online groups which will affect me as a food blogger and the growth of this blog. I would appreciate if you only share the link rather than the full recipe.

All images and text on this website are protected by copyright.