Sri Lankan Chicken Curry Pithivier
Allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Spice: 🌶🌶/5
About
A discussion I have had hundreds of times with my friends and family back home in Sri Lanka is about who makes or where to find the best chicken curry. The conversation seemed to come up every time we ate chicken curry somewhere, and as it is a staple of Sri Lankan cuisine, this happened often. Many claimed that the title should go to their mothers, grandmothers, or other relatives, which is, coincidentally, the same belief I hold.
The roasted spice of the curry powder along with the aromatic flavors of the curry leaves, ginger, garlic, and onions, work to bring a bold, spicy, savory flavor which you won’t soon forget.
Sri Lanka also has a history of using puff pastry in their cuisine, most commonly used in “short eats”—small handheld snacks which originated during the colonial era. You can find bakeries and little food stands or tuk-tuks around the island selling these short eats. One “short eat” that you will most certainly come across is a puff pastry, roti, or bread filled with a sweet, spiced onion relish called seeni sambol.
This is where the inspiration for my dish comes from. Combining the flavors of chicken curry, rice, and seeni sambol together with the buttery rough puff pastry mimics the idea of a chicken pot pie, but with a Sri Lankan twist.
Ingredient Guidance
Butter: Use above 80% milk fat for better puff pastry taste and color.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 750g chicken thighs
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 20g tamarind
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
For the Curry
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 1 ½ tbsp minced ginger
- 1 small Roma tomato
- 10-15 curry leaves
- 3 x 15cm pieces of pandan leaf
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 x 10cm pieces of cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp roasted curry powder (homemade - check Chef Arnold's home recipe below!)
- 15ml coconut oil
- 250ml water
- Salt to taste
ARNOLD KUIPER
Learn Chef Arnold's homemade curry recipe here!
For the Rice
- 100g basmati rice
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 1 clove of garlic
- 150ml chicken or meat stock
- 1 lemongrass stick
- 2 x 15cm pieces of pandan
- 3 cardamom pods
- 10 curry leaves
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 20ml ghee/clarified butter
- 1 tsp salt
For the Seeni Sambol
- 3 medium yellow onions
- 5g tamarind paste
- 1 x 10cm piece of cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom pods
- 3 cloves
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- 10g jaggery sugar
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 2 x 15cm pieces of pandan
- 15ml coconut oil
For the Rough Puff Pastry and Egg Wash
- 250g all-purpose flour
- 250g unsalted butter (cubed and cold)
- 150ml cold water
- 5g salt
- 1 large egg
- 15ml milk
- ¼ tsp salt
Mise en Place
Prep the Chicken
- Start by cutting the chicken into 4cm cubes and adding them to a bowl along with the salt, tamarind, chili powder, black pepper, and turmeric. Mix well and let it marinate for at least 1 hour, but preferably overnight.
Make the Rough Puff Pastry
- Cut the butter into 2cm sized cubes and freeze it for 30 minutes, or until cold and hard.
- Combine the flour, salt, and the cold butter in a bowl and rub them together to form a sand-like texture. Deliberately leave some larger chunks of butter unmixed, as these will form the layers in the rough puff.
- Mix in the water a little at a time with a spatula and mix until a dough ball forms. You might not need all the water depending on how humid it is in the room, so add the water gradually.
- Once the dough comes together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Remove the dough ball from the fridge and place it on a floured surface. Roll the dough on the floured surface until it is no longer sticky.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle that is 1cm thick and perform a brochure fold. Roll out again to 1cm thick and perform a book fold.
- Place the dough back in the fridge to rest for 20 minutes.
- Again, on a floured surface, roll the dough out to ½ cm thick and cut out 2 large circles, 1 slightly larger than the other. Place them on a tray, covered, and in the fridge until needed.
Prep the Aromatics & Wash
- To make the egg wash, blend the egg, milk, and salt together.
- Finely mince the ginger and the garlic. Thinly slice the yellow onions for the seeni sambol. Dice the remaining onion and tomato for the chicken curry and rice. Crush the lemongrass stick with the back of a knife. Rinse the rice in cold water to remove the starch.
Procedures & Methods
For the Rice
Sweat Aromatics — Heat a small pot and add the ghee. Add the diced onions and sweat them. Add the whole spices along with the curry leaves, pandan, and lemongrass stick.
Toast and Cook — Once fragrant, add the turmeric followed by the rice. Toast the rice in the aromatics for about 30 seconds before deglazing the pan with the stock. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to allow the stock to be absorbed slowly (about 14 minutes).
Rest — Turn the heat off and leave the pot covered for the next 15 minutes. Remove the lid and season with salt. Allow the rice to cool down. Remove the lemongrass, pandan, and whole spices from the rice. Reserve for later.
For the Chicken Curry
Sweat Aromatics — Heat a pan on medium and add the coconut oil. Add the diced onion and some salt. Once they start to turn translucent, add the whole spices along with the pandan and the curry leaves.
Build the Base — Once the onions start to turn golden, add in the minced ginger and garlic. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the tomato. Let everything simmer before adding in the marinated chicken.
Simmer — Sprinkle the roasted curry powder and black pepper on the chicken and then add the water. Bring the curry to a simmer and let it cook until it reduces to a thick, gravy-like consistency. Let the curry cool down completely.
For the Seeni Sambol
Caramelize — Heat a pan and add the coconut oil. Add the onions and sweat them along with the whole spices, curry leaf, and pandan leaf. Cook until the onions start to turn brown in color and then add the ground spices along with the tamarind and sugar. Slow cook until it looks like the consistency of caramelized onions. Let it cool down.
For the Construction
Layer the Filling — Place the smaller disk of puff pastry on a tray and place a ring mold on the disk that is 1cm smaller in diameter than the puff pastry disk. Fill the ring with a layer of rice and pat it down, then the chicken curry, and finally the seeni sambol. Pat down until flat.
Seal the Pastry — Brush the thin layer of puff pastry around the filling with the egg wash. Remove the ring and place the larger disk of puff over the top to cover and gently push down the sides, using the egg wash as a glue to seal the puff pastry.
Crimp and Trim — Crimp the edges with a fork and cut the excess away with the ring cutter of the smaller rough puff disk. Brush the outside of the puff pastry with the egg wash.
Chill and Score — Place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Brush another layer of egg wash and carve some designs with a paring knife. Use the same knife to make a small hole in the top of the puff pastry to allow the steam to escape during the baking process. Place it in the freezer for an additional 10 minutes before baking.
Bake — Heat an oven to 400°F (200°C). Place the pastry in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden in color and risen, then reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Rest — Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Storage and Reheating
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes.
Co-founder of Snout & Seek. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Arnold's passion for food stems from both his Dutch and Sri Lankan roots. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, Arnold's career in the culinary industry has brought him from the Netherlands to Canada, where he now teaches at a cooking school.
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