Make the BEST chicken curry you've ever had with this authentic Sri Lankan chicken curry recipe! Follow my tips and step by step instructions to make an everyday chicken curry that tastes truly authentic, complex, spicy, flavorful, and fragrant!EASY - This is a great starting recipe for novice cooks or those who are new to making curries. To make it easier, you can use boneless chicken, or chicken that has already been cut into sections.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT40M
Total time: PT55M
Rating
4.96 stars (255 reviews)
Keywords
Chicken Recipes, Curry, Curry Recipes, Indian Chicken Curry, Sri Lankan Chicken curry
Ingredients
2 - 3 tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
½ yellow onion (diced or sliced)
4 garlic cloves (minced or finely chopped)
1 inch ginger (minced or finely chopped)
6 - 7 curry leaves (or 2 bay leaves)
2 ½ tbsp roasted Sri Lankan curry powder (or unroasted is fine too)
1 cinnamon stick ((preferably Ceylon cinnamon) or ½ tsp ground cinnamon)
½ tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1 tsp cayenne pepper or kashmiri chili powder (less if you like it less spicy, please see recipe notes below)
1 tbsp paprika (NOT smoked paprika)
2 lbs chicken (whole chicken cut into sections OR any bone-in chicken thigh or leg pieces (large thigh pieces should be cut in half))
2 serrano peppers (or regular green chili) ( cut length-wise, with or without seeds)
3 small roma tomatoes (cut into cubes (or 2 medium-sized regular tomatoes))
2 tsp brown sugar (see recipe notes)
2 tsp lime juice or apple cider vinegar (see recipe notes)
½ cup full-fat coconut milk (see recipe notes)
½ cup water
Categories
Curry
Main Course
Cuisine
Asian
Indian
South Asian
Sri Lankan
Steps
Prepare the bone-in chicken by cutting it into smaller pieces. Each piece should be fairly small but not bite-sized. A regular chicken thigh should be cut in half and larger pieces should be cut into 3. A chicken breast should be cut into 3 pieces or more. The larger the chicken piece, the longer it will take to cook through, so it's important to keep the pieces fairly similar in size.
Add the coconut oil into a large saucepan and heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until they start to soften.
Add the garlic and ginger to the softened onions, and sauté until the garlic starts to soften. Make sure it doesn't burn.
Add curry powder, chili powder / cayenne pepper, paprika, cinnamon, curry leaves, and mix to combine. Cook for a few minutes until you start to smell the spices.
Add the chicken, serrano peppers / green chili peppers, salt, roma tomatoes, about 1 tsp sugar, and mix to coat. Cook for 10 minutes with the lid off, on medium high heat. Frequently stir to make sure the chicken or the spices don’t burn.
Add coconut milk, water, lime juice / vinegar, and bring the curry to a boil. If you want less gravy, add less liquid.
Lower the heat and let it simmer with the lid on for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave the lid off if you want to reduce the liquid content in the curry.
The chicken should be completely cooked by this point. This will depend on the size of the chicken pieces and the stove you use.
Taste the curry and season with more salt to taste if needed. You can add the rest of the sugar or more salt, or vinegar to your taste. Remember that curries can easily be adjusted to your taste!
If the chicken curry gravy is too thin, or there's too much of it, uncover and simmer the curry for a further 10 minutes or longer. This step is optional, but it allows the water to evaporate and for the gravy to thicken. If you want more gravy, you can add more water or coconut milk, but you will need to adjust the flavor accordingly.
Turn off the heat and let the chicken cool down slightly. Serve with rice or roti.
For best results, store the chicken curry in the fridge overnight and eat it the next day. (Seriously, it tastes even better the next day!)
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 187 kcal
Carbohydrates: 5 g
Protein: 20 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Sodium: 258 mg
Sugar: 2 g
Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
Reviews
Stacey on 2025-10-09 (5 stars): LOVE this curry so much!!! Thanks for sharing. I'm actually making it for a Dawali shared lunch at work which is also vegetarian themed, would this be suitable for chick peas, cauliflower and sweet potato?
Steph on 2025-10-07 (5 stars): Soooo good! My partner and I loved it (too spicy for thd kids). Can't wait to make it again. Thank you!
Mark Almeida on 2025-09-06 (5 stars): love making this recipe at least once a month (from scratch), not often enough for the fam, but we live in busy times :)
the freshly ground curry powder is truly extraordinary and makes this chicken curry the G.O.A.T. of all times !!
Jay on 2025-08-04 (5 stars): Made this chicken curry today. I wish i made a whole chicken so that I could have the entire curry all by myself and NOT share it. with rice and your lentil curry, it was absolutely amazing and it's the best I have ever tasted. Thank you.
Jacqueline Strange on 2025-07-23 (5 stars): Hi Dini, I've tried to see if anyone has just made the curry base and added small, slightly fish fillets to it at the very end to cook the fish through?
Ade Steele on 2025-04-15 (5 stars): This is a great recipe so easy to make and really tasty
Luan on 2025-03-05 (5 stars): The curry powder recipe that this uses is divine! I've never made chicken curry this good before. Thanks for the recipe--it's definitely going on rotation at our place.
Sindre on 2025-02-15 (5 stars): Yes! The best chicken curry in existence. I've made this countless times. It is essential to use the homemade curry powder described in the recipe. I always use coconut oil for this. I prefer using a whole chicken (in 12 parts or more), and I let the back and all bones cook with it, for more flavour.
The perfect side dish is the cauliflower curry found elsewhere on this site. And maybe some spiced chickpeas, but not necessarily.
Cindy on 2025-01-28 (5 stars): I LOVE this recipe. It has become a go-to in my kitchen. Paired with the mango and beet curry it feels just like I am back in Sri Lanka. Thanks for your amazing recipes.
Alison Lee on 2025-01-10 (5 stars): Thanks. Love that you put ingredients in method Very tasty
CJ on 2024-12-24 (5 stars): Made the curry powder following your recipe then used that for the curry chicken - the dish was delicious! I first deboned and cubed the chicken thighs, then kept the bones in the sauce while cooking. Thank you for the great recipes!
