Welcome ladies and gentlemen to 'Get Curried'.
Well, we chefs are an extremely lucky breed
because we get to attend a lot of these exchange programs
where we exchange recipes.
Well, unfortunately in one of these exchange programs
I could not visit that country
but a chef from there visited here
and taught us this recipe.
This one is a 'Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry'
and in this episode of the 'Curry World'
this is the recipe from me to you.
Let's begin.
This recipe of 'Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry' is extremely simple
the only thing is, you mix the Chicken, you marinate it well
you of course mix in a few spices, you give it that tempering and all of that
and you allow it to cook till the color literally changes
to a deep brownish black color
and that's where the name come in from Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry.
Now the first thing is to marinate the Chicken with a few ingredients.
Let's begin with the Vegetable Oil,
Salt as required
of course the amount of Salt can be altered you can add it later
but you can't reduce it later
so at this stage add it with caution.
Let's add in paste of Ginger and Garlic
and finally to the marination I am going to add in Dark Soy Sauce.
Now this is also one of the most critical ingredients
because you get that little bit of savoriness from this
but what's important is you get the black color from this ingredient.
Let's mix this well.
Now while the Chicken is being kept aside
let's quickly move on to the cooking part.
Let's light the flame, keep it on high for now
and I am going to add in Desi Ghee.
Once the Ghee heats up, I am going to add in Mustard Seeds,
and allow these to splutter.
Once that happens, I am going to add in Cumin Seeds
Cinnamon Stick and Cloves,
Green Cardamom, I am using the entire pot in this case
just lightly bash them so that the flavour just kind of opens up.
Curry Leaves,
Red Onions which are sliced
and give this a quick stir.
Once the Onions just kind of become slightly translucent
I will be adding in two more ingredients.
First one,
Green Chillies, in this case,
just snip the stock off and keep them whole
and Bay Leave which I have tore into a few pieces.
Let's stir this well
and allow all the flavours to kind of get released.
Well this is the stage
where you will actually start getting the flavour
of the Curry, which is the Black Chicken Sri Lankan Curry.
All of this, mind you, is happening on a very high flame.
At this stage, let's add in the Chicken which is kept aside marinating.
Well, along with the pieces, I am also going to add in the juices
because that's where the flavor and mind you the color also is.
Before stirring, I am also going to add in the powder spices.
In this case, Red Chilli powder.
Now,
this is the Red Chilli powder which is not very spicy
it also has very moderate color
so you can choose a powder or a mix accordingly.
A touch of Turmeric powder.
Let's add in Coriander Seed powder, untoasted
and
Black Pepper.
Now this is Black Pepper which is not roasted
it is pounded or hand crushed
but ensure you use a little more of it
because it's not only for flavour
it's also for it's color.
Well, the original recipe for like a kilo of Chicken
uses two whole heaped tbsp of Black Pepper.
So it's that much.
Time to stir this well
now also while stirring ensure that you keep scraping the sides.
Well, even if a little bit gets stuck here and there to the bottom or the sides
it's absolutely fine
because scraping all of that could be like a little concern at this stage
but the moment you add in the liquid
all of that literally is going to render back in the pan
and that's the beauty of this recipe
because as this keeps cooking
of course the dullness of the Chicken is also something
but as this recipe keeps cooking
keeps reducing in terms of
from a curry to a gravy
you can always build it back in terms of the Curry.
It starts getting thicker, denser
in terms of color, flavour, everything.
Let's mix this well
and time to add in Coconut milk.
Let's stir this as well.
At this stage, you will realise and notice,
that all the Oil or Ghee that was added in this recipe
starts releasing the sides of the pan.
Well, this is the sign that now we need to leave the Curry
and allow it to cook for at least forty minutes
or till it gets nice, thick and beautiful in terms of its color.
We intermittently also need to stir this Chicken
because of, of course, the addition of Coconut Milk
it's a very gentle ingredient as such
and of course a little bit will also splashing on sides of the pan
keep scraping it, keep adding it back to the pan
so that the color gets nice and prominent.
At around five to seven minutes you will realize and notice
that the color will begin to deep in
and that's the beauty of this recipe-
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry.
It's around twenty minutes and it's roughly half mark at this stage.
Of course we need to stir this like I said do not forget.
And now I am going to add in
Banana Peppers, now Banana Peppers are basically thick chillies
which are not very spicy
but they add in a wonderful layer of flavor.
I am also adding in the Green ones along with the ripened one
and along with this, some quartered Tomatoes.
Once these ingredients go in
we are going to stir this well
and allow this to cook for the remaining twenty, twenty-five minutes
or till the Chicken is wonderfully cooked.
It's been twenty minutes now after the addition of the Tomatoes.
Overall it's been around forty, forty-five minutes.
The Chicken is looking wonderfully cooked
and the gravy has also reduced and simmered beautifully well.
With this, off goes the flame and time to now serve this.
With this recipe,
Sri Lankan Black Chicken Curry
I hope, I have added yet another gem to this series called the 'Curry World'
Make this for your family, make this for your friends
and this is me, the Bombay Chef Varun Inamdar,
signing off, bye for now.