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Sri Lankan-inspired coconut chicken curry with curry leaves, tomato and green chilli beside rice
Coconut chicken curry in a deep bowl – creamy golden sauce with curry leaves, lime wedge on the rim, steamed rice behind.

Sri Lankan-Inspired Coconut Chicken Curry

The mix taken south: coconut milk, curry leaves and lime, simmered down until the sauce is thick enough to coat the chicken.

Prep
15 mins
Cook
35 mins
Total
50 mins
Serves
4
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Kitchen roadmap

Before you cook

The details that make or break this dish, mapped to the exact step where they matter.

  1. Watch forReduce uncovered
  2. Avoid thisTaste before adding more mix
  3. Make sureAdd lime at the end

Ingredients

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Method

10 steps

  1. Heat the oil and fry the onion for 6–8 minutes.

  2. If using curry leaves, add them and cook until fragrant.

  3. Add the ginger and garlic paste, followed by 2 teaspoons AL Mix.

  4. Add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes to lightly colour it.

  5. Stir in the tomato purée and chopped tomato.

  6. Pour in the coconut milk and add the green chilli.

  7. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 20–25 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced.

    Coconut chicken curry at a gentle uncovered simmer with a reduced sauce coating the chicken pieces

  8. Taste before adding the remaining AL Mix.

  9. Finish with lime juice.

    Fresh lime juice squeezed into thick coconut chicken curry after the heat is turned off

  10. Serve with steamed rice, roti or coconut sambol.

If it does not come out right

The faults this dish actually has. Open one for the fix.

Why does my curry taste raw?

A curry tastes raw because the ground spices met liquid before they met hot fat – powdered spices need 60 to 90 seconds in oil hot enough to shimmer, or eight to ten minutes of bhunai once the onions and tomatoes are in, before the dusty, unfinished note cooks off and the oil separates from the masala.

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Why does my curry taste flat?

A curry tastes flat almost always because of salt and acid rather than spice – under-salted food reads as missing something, and a curry cooked without tomato, yoghurt, lemon, amchur or tamarind has no sourness to lift the spice, so adding more masala makes it duller rather than brighter.

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How long do you fry onions for a curry base?

Fry sliced onions for 20 to 25 minutes over medium heat for a standard Punjabi curry base, until they are deep golden and collapsed – seven minutes gives a pale, sweet base, and 35 to 45 minutes on low gives the dark, jammy base used for a bhuna or a restaurant-style gravy.

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Authentic Lahori All Purpose Mix pouch

Make it with the Authentic Lahori mix

One blend for karahi, curries, marinades, chips and everyday cooking.

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