Varuni Wijeyesinghe shows how to make kukul mas, a Sri Lankan-style chicken curry.
Varuni Wijeyesinghe came to New Zealand from Sri Lanka in 1973 when she was a small child. Her father was a doctor in Waiuku in the North Island.
Although many ingredients were not readily available in the 1970s, her mother used to cook Sri Lankan curries and made her own curry-powder blends.
Varuni, familiar with the tastes and smells of the food at home, taught herself to cook the recipes of her childhood taking shortcuts and learning by trial and error.
Kukul mas (Sri Lankan chicken curry).
1-1½ kg chicken or 6 breasts or thighs, skinned and cut into 5-8cm pieces
3 Tbsp oil
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
10 fresh curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped or crushed fresh ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder or dried chillies (or to taste)
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground fennel
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 Tbsp paprika (to add colour, optional)
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped or ½ can tomatoes or 2 Tbsp tomato paste
8 cardamom pods, bruised
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 stalk lemongrass
5cm piece of rampa (pandan leaf)
½ can coconut milk
a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.
Heat oil in a large pot. Add the fenugreek seeds and curry leaves and stir, then the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion is golden brown.
Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, fennel and salt. When it smells fragrant, add the chicken pieces, stir to coat with the spices and leave to cook a few minutes.
Then add the whole spices, vinegar and tomatoes and stir.
Allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the coconut milk and the lime or lemon juice. Taste to check the balance between lemon and salt. Allow to simmer for a little longer for the flavours to meld.
Serve with yellow rice, dahl with vegetables, coconut sambal and other curries.
• Thanks to Afife Harris.
Tips
• Varuni likes to joint a whole chicken so she can keep the bones in the meat, which gives extra flavour. She cuts the thigh into two pieces, the breast into four and cooks the neck and back with the curry to add to the flavour.
• Take care not to let the fenugreek seeds blacken as they will turn bitter.
• Fresh (or frozen) curry leaves and rampa or pandan leaf are best as dried ones don't have much flavour. The Indian grocery usually has them.
• Vary spice depending on your taste. If you don't like hot curries, reduce the chilli and use paprika to give colour.
• To bruise the cardamom, use a knife to cut the fibrous pods so the seeds can be seen.
• If you wish to make your own curry powder so this dish is quicker to make, dry-roast whole spices then grind them and store them in an airtight jar. Varuni says her mother has jars of different spice mixes for various types of curry.
