Last Saturday, Chanika, Courtney and I decided it would be fun to get together and cook dinner. Going out to the same place all the time gets kinda boring. This was something different and since we are were all going to Chanika’s house we decided to celebrate her heritage and make it a Sri Lankan theme.
Mixed Fried Rice
Chanika rounded up a couple traditional Sri Lankan recipes from her mom and the three of us each worked on a dish while the kids and men played X-box (….not cuz they’re lazy, but cuz we kept kicking them out of the kitchen). The menu was mixed fried rice with prawns, chicken curry and a Thai chicken with peanut sauce.
Courtney worked on the rice, Chanika handled the Thai chicken and I was in charge of the chicken curry. Everything had a bit of spice to it but wasn’t overpowering or unmanageable. Like any recipe we all kind of modified it to taste. Of course, I was all excited about making dinner because it meant i got to take pictures of the whole thing. Chanika knows me all too well. She copied the recipes of the dishes we cooked so I could talk about them in the blog. Thanks friend!
Chicken Curry
No bias here, but I thought the chicken curry was faaaaaantastic! It was stewed in coconut milk spiced with curry, cinnamon and chilli and was delicious on a bed of the fried rice. The Thai chicken had a little kick to it too but was complemented by a side of peanut sauce that you could dip into.
After dinner, we played a round of Trivial Pursuit where, to my shame, my team was annihilated. Mental note: do not ever play on the same team with Chanika because she CANNOT resist the urge to provide the answers to the opposing teams!
Thai Chicken
Embarrassing defeat aside, I love getting together, cooking, eating, talking and just being around friends. This is what makes a great night for me. The three of us agreed that we would try to make this a regular thing. Next month, we’re going to Courtney’s….so start planning that menu Court!Here’s the recipe for chicken curry:
Chicken Curry
- 1 1/2 kg chicken
- 5 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 3 tsp salt
- 3 spoons vinegar
- 4 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp saffron powder
- 3 green chillies (cut)
- 2 onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1″ piece of ginger
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 2 cardamons
- 2 cloves
- Bay leaf or curry leaves
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp roasted curry powder
Clean and wash chicken and cut into pieces. Add salt, vinegar, saffron powder to the saffron powder to the pieces and leave it for 10min. Heat pan and roast the chilli powder & curry powder. Add to the chicken. Mix well. Add the oil into a pan, when it’s hot add the curry leaves, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, onions, cardamons & cloves. Fry till the onions are golden brown. Then add the seasoned chicken, green chillies, cinnamon & the water.
Stir, cover & boil. Reduce heat and add the coconut milk. Allow the curry to simmer. Stir once or twice. When chicken is cooked remove heat & sprinkle the rest of the curry powder.
