Chicken Curry from Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan curries have different flours to Indian and Thai curries.  Quite spicy with a heavenly aroma.  Cook the day before so the chicken can really absorb the flavours.  You can keep in the bones.  I removed them when the curry was cooked and falling off the bones as I just thought it looked prettier without bones sticking up.

3 tablespoons oil
1 cinnamon stick
6 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger finely chopped
6 cardamom pods bruised
2 chilies finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped kaffir lime leaves (optional)
2 onions thinly sliced
 3 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2.5 kg chicken pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup water
Put oil into a large pot and add the cinnamon stick, garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, chilies and onion and cook until the onions are soft.  Add in the curry powder, chili powder and cinnamon powder.  Mix well with the onion mixture.  Add the chicken pieces and brown the chicken pieces an at the same time cover the chicken with the curry and onion mixture.  Add in the 1/2 cup water, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste.  Let it cook on medium heat until it starts to boil.  Reduce the heat and add the coconut milk.  Leave to simmer until the chicken starts to fall off the bone.  Serve with jasmine and cashew nut rice.
Cindy Vine is a South African living and working in Kyiv Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback format.