By Jehan Yusoof  |  Updated October 14, 2026  | ★ 4.7 (12 reviews) | 2 comments

Sri Lankan pepper chicken curry.
Using pepper as the key ingredient and Sri Lankan curry powders, here’s how you make a delicious black pepper chicken curry with a thick coconut sauce.
When you get tired of cooking a spicy Sri Lankan chicken curry using red chillies and need a change in taste, this black pepper chicken curry will make a difference.

Reader quote
Hi Jehan, I made this chicken curry just now. It’s so delicious. Thank you so much, with love xxx- hesala
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What Is Sri Lankan Black Pepper Chicken Curry?

A Sri Lankan chicken curry where black pepper, not red chilli, gives the heat.
Chicken is marinated in tamarind, cooked with cumin, coriander and turmeric, then simmered in coconut milk. Some call it pepper chicken curry.

Why This Pepper Chicken Curry Works

• Pepper is the key ingredient. Too little and the chicken curry doesn’t have much of the peppery flavour you are going for; too much and you’ll get a slight bitterness in the back of your throat.
• Tamarind marinade. Fifteen minutes in tamarind juice and salt gives the chicken a tang that balances the pepper.
• Cooking off the liquid. Letting the marinade evaporate before the coconut milk goes in browns the chicken and deepens the colour.
• Coconut milk last. A slow simmer thickens the gravy and gives it a darker hue.

Ingredients for Pepper Chicken Curry

You’ll find exact quantities in the recipe card below.

• Chicken: bone-in parts, legs, and other parts.
• Tamarind: soaked in water for 5 minutes, then squeezed for the juice.
• Spice powders: turmeric, cumin, coriander, and ground black pepper.
• Aromatics: curry leaves (or a bay leaf), pandan leaf (optional), cinnamon, cardamom, ginger-garlic paste, onion, green chillies, and tomato.
• Coconut milk: fresh, canned, or powdered
• Oil: coconut oil or vegetable oil
• Salt

• Substituting ingredients for Black pepper chicken curry.
  • I’ve mentioned cumin powder and coriander powder; you can replace these 2 spice powders with a tablespoon of curry powder.

What you will need in the kitchen

• Chopping board and knife
• Marinating bowl
• A heavy pan with a lid and wooden spoon
• Serving bowl and spoon

How to Make Sri Lankan Black Pepper Chicken Curry

Marinate the Chicken

Wash, clean, and place the chicken parts in a bowl.
Add salt and tamarind juice, mix, and let it marinate for 15 minutes. 

Temper the spices

Over medium heat, place a cooking pan and pour in the oil.
Once the oil heats (1 minute), add the curry leaves, pandan leaf (2-inch), cardamoms, and cinnamon, followed by ginger-garlic paste.
Cook for 2 minutes and then add the sliced onions, green chillies, and chopped tomatoes.
Sauté the ingredients over low-medium heat until onions and tomatoes turn soft. 5 to 7 minutes.

Cook the Chicken in the Spices

Reduce the heat and add the chicken with the marinade to the cooking pan.
Cook until the tamarind juice is absorbed.
Let the chicken brown with a little added oil.
Frequently mix the chicken with the spices to avoid the chicken parts sticking to the pan.

Add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and pepper powder over the chicken while the heat is low.
Mix all the ingredients in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes while cooking the meat with the spices.

Cover and let the curry simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until there is no liquid left.
If you prefer to fry the chicken at this stage, add 2 tablespoons of oil and let the chicken brown slightly, OR continue cooking until all liquid evaporates.

Simmer in Coconut Milk

Pour in the coconut milk, reduce heat, season with salt if necessary, then cover and simmer until the gravy thickens and takes on a darker hue, 15 to 25 minutes.

Serve warm with your favourite rice and curry dishes.

What to Serve With Pepper Chicken Curry

• Rice
  • Coconut rice
  • Plain white rice
  • Sri Lankan Yellow Rice (turmeric rice)
  • Egg biryani (one-pot rice dish/stove-top)

• Paratha and bread
  • Sri Lankan roast paan
  • Sri Lankan paratha (godamba)roti
  • Garlic Naan recipe without yeast
  • Stovetop Naan bread

• Vegetable sides
  • Sri Lankan Dhal curry
  • Sri Lankan Potato curry
  • Pol sambol (Sri Lankan Coconut Sambol)
  • Gotu kola (pennywort salad)sambol.
  • Pumpkin curry (Sri Lankan wattakka curry)
• Breakfast: for a change, replace the usual red chilli chicken curry with this pepper chicken and serve with coconut roti or kiribath with lunumiris.

Storing, Reheating pepper chicken

• Storing: Let the curry cool; keep it in a glass container (plastic stains). Refrigerate and use within 2 to 3 days.

• Reheating: Add ¼ cup (60 ml) water and microwave, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring halfway, or warm over low-medium heat until piping hot.

More chicken recipes

Sri Lankan chicken curry
Kalupol chicken curry
Sri Lankan devilled chicken
Pepper chicken in yoghurt curry
Jaffna curry powder chicken curry
Chicken curry without coconut milk

Watch more Sri Lankan recipes on my YouTube channel

Continue to Content

Sri Lankan Black Pepper Chicken Curry

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Tamarind-marinated chicken cooked with cumin, coriander and plenty of black pepper, then simmered in coconut milk.

4.7 Stars (12 Reviews)

Print

Ingredients

• 500g of chicken bone-in parts
• 2 to 3 tablespoons of tamarind juice (1 tablespoon of tamarind soaked in 1/4 water for 5 minutes)
• 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
• A handful of curry leaves (5 to 8 leaves. substitute with a bay leaf)
• A 2″ piece of pandan leaf (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of garlic and ginger paste (3 cloves and a 1-inch piece of ginger can be minced for this purpose)
• 1″ cinnamon piece
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 large onion sliced fine
• 2 whole green chillies
• 1 medium-sized tomato sliced into four
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons of pepper(start with 1 tablespoon and add more as per your taste)
• Salt to season
• 1 cup of coconut milk

Instructions

Marinate the chicken

1. Wash, clean, and place the chicken parts in a bowl.
2. Add 1 to ½ teaspoon of salt and tamarind juice (3 tablespoons), mix, and let it marinate for 15 minutes. 

Temper the spices

1. Over medium heat, place a cooking pan and pour in the oil (4 tablespoons).
2. Once the oil heats (1 minute), add the curry leaves, pandan leaf (2-inch), cardamom (3), and cinnamon (1-inch), followed by ginger-garlic paste (1 tablespoon).
3. Cook for 2 minutes and then add the sliced onions (1 large), green chillies (2), and tomatoes (1 medium).
4. Sauté the ingredients over low-medium heat until onions and tomatoes turn soft. 5 to 7 minutes.

Cook the chicken in the spices

1. Reduce the heat and add the chicken(with the marinade)to the cooking pan.
2. Cook until the tamarind juice is absorbed. Let the chicken brown with a little added oil.
3. Frequently mix the chicken with the spices to avoid the chicken parts sticking to the pan.
4. Add turmeric powder (1/2 teaspoon), cumin powder (2 teaspoons), coriander powder (3 teaspoons), and pepper powder (2 tablespoons) over the chicken while the heat is low.
5. Mix all the ingredients in the pan for 3 to 5 minutes while cooking the meat with the spices.
6. Cover and let the curry simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until there is no liquid left
7. If you prefer to fry the chicken at this stage, add 2 tablespoons of oil and let the chicken brown slightly OR continue to cook until all liquid evaporates and proceed to the next stage.

Simmer in coconut milk

1. Pour in the coconut milk, reduce heat, season with salt if necessary, then cover and simmer until the gravy thickens and takes on a darker hue. 15 to 25 minutes.
2. Serve warm with your favourite rice and curry dishes. Meal ideas given above.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 606Total Fat: 46gSaturated Fat: 28gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 156mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 7gSugar: 4gProtein: 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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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JEHAN
Recipe creator. Food Blogger. Video creator
I’ve been cooking and sharing Sri Lankan recipes, along with other dishes I love making at home on Island Smile since 2015. I’ve tested every recipe on this site more than once in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog.
I grew up eating this food, and I still cook it the same way my family taught me, just written down clearly enough that you can follow it too.
If a recipe doesn’t work the way I say it will, tell me in the comments; I read every one, and I’ll help you fix it.