Black Pepper Chicken Curry
This healthy delicious one-pot Black Pepper Chicken Curry is definitely one of my favorite chicken recipes. It's so flavorful and aromatic and super easy to make. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, and made with very little amount of coconut oil. Trust me you want to give it a try cause this recipe is a keeper!
Which cut of Chicken to use?
If you're not new to my blog, you probably are familiar with my red chicken curry, Sri Lankan traditional chicken curry, and roasted coconut chicken curry recipes. In all the recipes, I encourage you to use bone-in thigh or leg meat (dark meat). But for this recipe, you can use both white and dark meat. Since we cut them into relatively smaller chicken pieces, they absorb a lot of flavor. I still do encourage you to use bone-in chicken though. And add any chicken giblets like liver, heart, and neckpieces to the curry. They certainly add more flavor to the broth.
Curry Powder:
I use my homemade meat curry powder (which is honestly so easy to make and wayyyy better than store-bought powder, so I hope you try it). But of course, you can use either store-bought meat curry powder or Sri Lankan roasted curry powder (some people call this Sri Lankan black curry powder/kalu kudu). These curry powders are made with toasted spices so they are quite strong and have a nice smoky flavor and aroma.
If what you have is regular curry powder, dry roast it in a frying pan until the color changes to dark brown (but not too dark that it burns) before adding to the curry.
Serving Ideas:
This Black Pepper Chicken Curry is very versatile and pairs well with many side dishes. You can serve this with White Rice, Yellow Rice, Sri Lankan coconut Roti, Paratha, Hoppers, String hoppers, Thati Paan, you name it!
Here are a few of my favorite menus for this chicken curry:
- Black pepper chicken curry + coconut sambol + red lentil curry (This combination is a staple in my house)
- Yellow Rice + Black Pepper Chicken Curry + Creamy Potato Curry + Fried Eggplant Salad + Fish Cutlets (This is an amazing menu for special occasions)
- Black Pepper Chicken shredded and stuffed into Coconut Roti or used as a sandwich filling.
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This healthy delicious one-pot Black Pepper Chicken Curry is definitely one of my favorite chicken recipes. It's so flavorful and aromatic and super easy to make. It's gluten-free, dairy-free and made with very little amount of coconut oil. Trust me you want to give it a try cause this recipe is a keeper!
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 5 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- 3 pieces of cinnamon roughly 2 inch long
- 1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
- 1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1 small pandan leaf, broken into pieces
- 1 piece garcinia cambogia/goraka piece (substitute: 2 tsp of tamarind)
- 2 sliced green chilies (adjust to your spice level)
- 1/3 cup chopped shallots/onions
- 1 1/2 tbsp meat curry powder (more info in the recipe description)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, devided
- 1 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
- 1 tomato, diced
- 600 g skinless chicken cut into 2 inch pieces (both bone-in and boneless work. thighs are best)
- 1/2 cup water (you may need more as the curry cooks down)
- 3 green chilies slitted in the middle lengthwise
- 1 tsp coarse ground black pepper
Heat oil in a clay pot/heavy bottom pot. Add cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Let them fry in oil for about 5 seconds.
Then add garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and pandan leaves. Mix well. Cook until garlic starts to turn soft.
Add garcinia cambogia (goraka), green chilies, and shallots. Mix and fry in oil until the garlic starts to turn golden in color and the shallots start to soften up.
Then add chicken curry powder, black pepper, turmeric powder, and salt. Stir-fry with the rest of the ingredients for about 10 - 15 seconds or until you feel the fragrance of curry powder.
Next add tomatoes. Mix well. Lower the heat and cook until tomatoes start to soften up.
Add chicken pieces. Stir and mix well with the spices.
Add water. Mix again. Cover the pot and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. (see notes below)
Finally, add the green chilies, sprinkle black pepper on top to garnish, and cover with the lid. This will make the oil float on top which makes the curry look very appealing.
When I'm in a hurry I usually cook this dish for only about 10 minutes on medium heat or until the chicken pieces are all the way cooked. Chicken pieces can become tough and chewy if you overcook them.
Or you can do the braising method if you have more time. Add some extra water and cook the curry for about 45 - 50 minutes on low heat with the lid on. Chicken pieces will absorb more flavor and become tender as well.
