CEYLON CINNAMON CHICKEN CURRY

cinnamon aromatherapy MEDIA GALLERY
apple_cinnamon_chutney

This is a fabulous light chicken curry, full of flavor without the spicy hotness of most South East Asian curries. We used Paprika instead of red chili powder to give this dish the deep color that is a must for this recipe. You can use chili of course, but the flavor of this dish is equally good without the chili.

The flavor is created by the subtle blend of spices. Because Ceylon Cinnamon is mild with notes of cloves and citrus this will not have any discernable cinnamon taste. Rather the Ceylon Cinnamon is used to create a more complex flavor profile with a little bits of other spices, curry leaves and lemon grass. That is not possible with Cassia Cinnamon which tends to dominate and over power. The coconut milk adds a creamy richness to the gravy. Subtlety is the key here.

For this recipe we prefer a whole chicken, cut into small cubes with the bones. If the rest of the chicken like the heart, the liver, the neck is included like in the antibiotic free chicken we bought, then add it to the curry. It adds to the flavor, especially the liver which disintegrates and assimilates into the gravy.

Remember to clean all the chicken fat out. Unlike beef, chicken fat does not taste great so remove it carefully like we did. It takes time to remove the fat from a whole chicken but well worth it for the end result.

If you want a light creamy curry that everyone will love without it being too spicy or hot this is it.. Serve with white rice and maybe a stiry fry vegetable dish. Add a little extra water and coconut milk if you want more gravy.

Prep Time : 60 minutes
Cook Time : 40 minutes
Serves : 4-6 people

INGREDIENTS

1 Whole chicken (About 2.2 lbs)
1 three inch stick of Ceylon cinnamon
(Do not use Cassia Cinnamon)
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil
5-6 pieces of curry leaves
3 cloves (crushed)
3 cardamom pods (black)
2 tablespoons of Hunts Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon of crushed ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder (Sri Lankan preferred because the spice mix is very different from Indian cooking)
1 cup water
5.6 oz of coconut milk
1 cup of water

Optional
1 teaspoon or chili powder or use Paprika like we did
1 teaspoon lemon grass
1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Clean and Cut the chicken into 1.5 inch square pieces. Carefully remove all the fat from the chicken. Include the bones and all the innards like the liver, the heart, the neck which gives much greater flavor
Marinate the chicken with the crushed the cloves, the cardamom pods, pepper, Paprika (and or the optional chili), and curry powder and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan add chopped onions and saute for 2 minutes.
Saute - Add the garlic paste, curry leaves, ginger and Ceylon cinnamon stick saute them for 3 minutes on medium heat
Add chicken and mix in well and cook for another 3 minutes stirring frequently.
Add 1 cup water and the Tomato puree, cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat. Add salt half way through or at the end whichever you prefer.
Add the 5.6 oz coconut milk and let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat

Note: They key to good cooking is to use fresh ingredients. We use Hunt’s Tomato paste because it is much better (Vine ripened) than the gas ripened fresh tomatoes in most US supermarkets which have no taste. You should also follow ingredient quantities precisely because a change in ingredients or their quantity will lead to a different result. For example using Cow’s milk instead of coconut milk is possible but the taste will be quite different.

Ceylon Cinnamon sticks