Sri Lankan blackened chicken curry (Kalu kukul mas curry)

We made this curry in Sri Lanka with Chef Peper Kuruvita during one of his many cooking demonstrations. I fell in love with this curry; it is unique.

Kalu kukul mas curry literally translates to "blackened chicken", and is a classic village-style dish in Sri Lanka. It is most popular around Galle and the southern Western region of the island, where spices grow abundantly. As history tells us, this is an ancient curry, pre-dating Colonialism and dating back to Buddhist times. The technique is also interesting. The method of charring the spices is supposed to marinate the village chicken, which has tougher meat. The slow-cooking technique is also essential for both cooking the chicken until it is tender and for allowing the spices to bloom.

The magic in the curry is the spices. The raw spice paste is deeply roasted, almost to a black. It adds the dark colour, and the spices are bold and flavour-forward. The curry is spicy, just the way it should be enjoyed, but it is a classic of Sri Lankan cuisine.

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Ingredients:

For the spice marinade:

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 1/2 teaspoons roasted curry powder (see recipe below)

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate

1 lb chicken, cut into 8 segments

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Raw spice powder:

1 tablespoon uncooked rice

2 tablespoons grated coconut

2 dried red chillies

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

For the curry:

4 tablespoons oil

15 curry leaves

4-9inches pandan leaf, halved

1-inch of cinnamon stick

2 onions, sliced thinly

1tablespoon ginger paste

1 tablespoon garlic paste

2-3 green chillies, slit longitudinally

1 teaspoon pepper

Salt, to taste

1 1/2 cups water

Mix the chicken with the spice marinade ingredients. Marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Make the raw spice powder by roasting the spices in a dry frying pan on a very low flame. The spices need to darken to almost black. Do not burn them; it is easy to go from dark to burnt. Cool completely and grind to a fine powder in a spice mill. Store in a dry bottle for up to a month.

Heat the oil, then add the curry leaves, pandan, and cinnamon, and fry for 30 seconds, until the oil is aromatic and the cinnamon has turned a shade darker. Add the onions and fry until they are deeply caramelised to a dark brown. Add the ginger, garlic and green chillies and cook until the ginger no longer smells raw, about 1 minute.

Add the chicken, pepper, salt, and marinade, and cook on medium heat to seal the chicken, about 5 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes with the lid closed. Stir the pot occasionally and check for water. You want a slightly thick curry, with the sauce clinging to the meat. Taste for salt and spices, and adjust to your palate.

Serve hot with rice