Healthy Chicken Sri Lankan curry
I fancied making a different curry to normal so I looked online at Sri Lankan curry recipes and then adapted them to make one that is healthier!
What makes a Sri Lankan curry different?
Sri Lanka is a country with most dishes being very spicy. They use a lot of curry leaves, black peppercorns, coconut, cinnamon and cayenne pepper amongst other things. This recipe is no exception, spicy and full of flavour you are sure to enjoy it.
How to make Sri Lankan curry more authentic
If you want to make this recipe more true to the way the Sri Lankans make it then a few simple swaps are needed. Of course, they are not all low calorie which is why I swapped them so the choice is yours.
Instead of coconut frylight use a tablespoon of coconut oil.
Add a cinnamon stick when you add the other spices. It works well without though and as my son, Ben has a severe cinnamon allergy we do not use it as it could cause life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Use coconut milk instead of Greek yoghurt.
Use black mustard instead of mustard powder. I simply could not get any black mustard so substituted it and it worked well.
Making this recipe even healthier
If you want to make this recipe even healthier be sure to add vegetables to your plate when you serve it. I found roasted red peppers were perfect and they quickly roasted in the oven whilst the curry was cooking.
Using frozen chicken
Chicken for this or any other chicken recipes should never be cooked from frozen, there are so many issues with this that risk food poisoning.
If you have just realised you only have frozen chicken there I have lots of tips to safely defrost chicken check them out in my defrosting chicken guide.
Eating Sri Lankan curry for weight loss
If you follow Slimming World, Weight Watchers (WW), Noom or any other weight loss plan you can usually count the ingredients within this recipe in your allowances.
It is of course important to check yourself for any plan you follow and remember all nutritional information and ingredients are found in the recipe card below.
Other recipes you may enjoy
If you are looking for more recipes with rice then do check out my list of rice recipes from around the world.
If you are not confident at boiling rice or making risotto I have a foolproof guide to boiling rice here and a risotto guide.
If you like a good curry then check out all my curry recipes including curry sauce, chicken and mushroom curry and many more. I also have some spice blends you can make yourself here!
Do you like chicken and want some new recipes to make with it? Check out all my chicken recipes.
Sri Lankan chicken curry recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 Portions 1x
- Category: Main Meal
- Method: Hob
- Cuisine: Sri Lankan
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
A delicious very spicy curry that is healthy and very authentic.
Ingredients
Coconut frylight
4 chicken breasts (cut into bite-size chunks)
1 large onion (diced)
4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 inch of ginger (grated)
6 curry leaves
0.5 tsp cayenne pepper
0.5 tsp cardamom seeds (removed from pods)
1 tbsp coriander
0.25 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp ground cumin
0.5 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp mustard powder
0.5 tsp ground cloves
3 fresh tomatoes (cubed)
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp sliced jalapeno peppers
1 tsp granulated sweetener
2 tsp cider vinegar
250g Fat-free Greek yoghurt
50ml water
Instructions
Fry onion, garlic and ginger for around 5 minutes until soft in a large lidded saucepan.
Add all the dry spices, and curry leaves and cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently so it does not burn the spices.
Add the chicken pieces, jalapenos, tomatoes, sweetener and cook for 10 minutes continuing to mix frequently.
Finally add the yoghurt, water and vinegar to the marinated chicken and bring to the boil.
Cover and cook. Place the lid on top of the frying pan and simmer with the lid on for 15-20 minutes.
Uncover and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Ensure that the chicken is cooked through.
Notes
This is a very spicy curry you may need to have more yoghurt to serve it with so it may be worth buying some just in case!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 426
- Sugar: 6.7 g
- Sodium: 173.9 mg
- Fat: 8.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.8 g
- Protein: 70.2 g
I’ve never had a Sri Lankan curry before, but I was well impressed with this. Thanks so much. A hit in our house!