Sri Lankan Chicken Masala Traybake

No chicken curry will taste exactly the same throughout Sri Lanka as everyone has their own recipe and ratio of spices and ingredients. However, Sri Lankan curries basically use coconut, curry leaves, onions, and SOME chillies and a special roasted curry powder. But you can use madras curry powder or make your own if you can't find Sri Lankan curry powder and use bay leaves if you can't find curry leaves. This is the perfect make-ahead dinner-party dish and so easy too. You can marinate the chicken with the prepared masala curry and keep for up to 2 days in the fridge, just bring it back up to room temperature before roasting.

	Masala Curry
6 / 1.2 kg Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 3 tbsp Coconut oil 10 Curry leaves (fresh or dried) 3 Shallots, sliced A small bunch gotu kola or cilantrol leaves	2 tbsp Coconut oil 6 Garlic cloves, crushed 1 tsp Turmeric powder 5 Cloves, crushed 1 generous tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder 5-8 Small chillies Juice of 1 lime (or white wine vineger) 3 Ripe vine tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1 tbsp Tomato paste 1 Small onion, cut into chunks 20 g Gresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks 2 tbsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder (or madras curry powder) 1 tsp Coconut sugar 1 x 400 g Full fat coconut milk 3/4 tsp sea salt

Masala Curry

6 / 1.2 kg Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 3 tbsp Coconut oil 10 Curry leaves (fresh or dried) 3 Shallots, sliced A small bunch gotu kola or cilantrol leaves

2 tbsp Coconut oil
6 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp Turmeric powder
5 Cloves, crushed
1 generous tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
5-8 Small chillies
Juice of 1 lime (or white wine vineger)
3 Ripe vine tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp Tomato paste
1 Small onion, cut into chunks
20 g Gresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder (or madras curry powder)
1 tsp Coconut sugar
1 x 400 g Full fat coconut milk
3/4 tsp sea salt

In a food processor, blitz all the ingredients for the masala curry until smooth. Spread over the chicken thighs in a plastic bag and marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight, in the fridge.
Transfer the chicken and sauce to a baking tray, top with the curry leaves and bring to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
Roast for 45–50 minutes until the skin has browned and the sauce has thickened. Remove and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium-hot heat, add the shallots and fry for a couple of minutes until crispy, then add the gotu kola or cilantro leaves and leave to sizzle for a few seconds. Remove and drained.
Garnish with chicken curry and serve with rice or flatbread as you like.

20 comments:

eileeninmd 7/12/24 12:43: Hello Angie,
Looks like another delicious recipe, thanks for sharing.
Take care, have a happy weekend.
DEZMOND 7/12/24 13:10: It is interesting that I have never liked curry as a spice, I have it in my cupboard but almost never use it, it is probably because of the turmeric or something in it. I cook everything on Vegeta, which is Yugoslav national seasoning.
Tom 7/12/24 13:46: ..Angie, your international culinary journey continues!
Lola Martínez 7/12/24 13:58: Este pollo lleva una gran cantidad de ingredientes en el curry masala, seguro que imprimirá mucho sabor a esta carne.
David M. Gascoigne, 7/12/24 14:37: Who knew that Kashmir has its own chili powder?
snobe casamang 7/12/24 15:25: WOW that's a wonderful recipe, thanks a lot for shring.
Christine 7/12/24 15:58: Yummy!
Eva Taylor 7/12/24 19:54: What a lovely recipe, the colour is absolutely gorgeous. I’m a little dubious of bringing chicken room temperature but I love everything else about this recipe.
We were in Spain last month and unfortunately I got very sick with a stomach virus so I’ve been MIA. I’m still not fully recovered, but I’ll try to catch up.
Cooking Julia 8/12/24 00:03: This chicken is wonderfully roasted, it looks so good!
Brian's Home Blog 8/12/24 00:58: That does look absolutely delicious!
J.P. Alexander 8/12/24 02:26: Gracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
Margaret D 8/12/24 05:47: That does look lovely, and I bet it tastes nice too.
Anonymous 8/12/24 05:59: This sounds delicious!
Tandy | Lavender and Lime https://tandysinclair.com
Veronica Lee 8/12/24 08:34: This looks like another tasty recipe—thanks for sharing! 😋
Frank 8/12/24 15:08: Wow, this looks and sounds heavenly. and not too difficult to pull off. Chicken Masala is well liked in our household so I bet this dish would be a hit.
Bill 8/12/24 20:17: Looks delicious!
My name is Erika. 8/12/24 22:55: Now this chicken dish looks amazing. And perfect for this time of year.
thepaintedapron.com 9/12/24 15:05: Beautiful!!
Jenna
Diane 9/12/24 16:47: This sounds so delicious, certainly worth trying. Thanks Diane
tigerfish 18/12/24 03:33: In fact, no chicken curry taste the same around the world. I don't think I have tasted/tried Sri Lankan chicken curry.