Chicken Devel (Sri Lankan Devilled Chicken)
So this dish is one of my favorite Sri Lankan dishes. It is called Chicken Devel, or Devilled Chicken, and it is an extremely flavorful recipe. It is not a curry, but it does use curry leaves. If you do not like curry flavor you can absolutely leave out the leaves to suit your taste preference. This recipe was taught to me by the owner of a home stay that Alona and I stayed at in Kandy.
The best part about this dish is just how easy it is to make. While I am going to give you ingredient measurements, you can just as easily adjust more or less to suit your taste. This is what makes cooking so fun.
I personally find Sri Lankan food to be better than Indian food, and it is because the flavors are more balanced. Indian cuisine (and yes, I know how varied it can be) uses tons of great spices, but many times I feel the cook is just having a competition to see how many ingredients he can pack in his curry. I once had a curry that had 45 different spices. It wasn’t very good.
While this dish does have quite a few ingredients, you can leave some out if you don’t like that flavor. I also know that curry leaves can be difficult to find, so you can use just the curry powder if you so choose.
Chicken Devel Ingredients
500 grams Chicken; segmented. You can use light or dark meat.
1 Onion; yellow. Chopped.
4 cloves Garlic; minced.
1 tsp Ginger; crushed.
2 Chilies; pieces, can use red or green.
1 Tomato; medium sized. Chopped.
2 tsp Curry Powder (just blitzed coriander, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds)
2 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Salt; or to taste.
Chicken Devel Instructions
1. season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. In a pot, add the chicken pieces and then add just enough water to cover the meat. Turn on the heat and boil until the water is almost completely dissolved.
3. Keep the heat on high, and add the butter. Then add the curry powder, chili pieces, onion, crushed ginger, turmeric, tomato, and finally garlic. Mix well and let cook until fragrant.
4. Turn the heat down low and add the sauces. Toss to coat. Plate and drizzle over the lime juice and serve immediately.
Notes
This dish can hold for 3 days in the refrigerator, and in my opinion the next day the flavors are even more infused. You can reheat easily in the microwave.
This dish is best served alongside steamed white rice, but fried rice is also popular.
Chicken Devel (Sri Lankan Devilled Chicken)
Equipment
- Pot
Ingredients
- 500 grams Chicken segmented, white or dark
- 1 Onion medium; chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 Chilies red or green, large pieces
- 1 Tomato chopped
- 2 tsp Curry Powder (store bought is okay, but this is just blitzed coriander, cumin seeds, and fennel seeds)
- 2 Curry Leaves
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
- 1 tsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp Butter or margarine
Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a pot add the chicken and fill with enough water just to cover the meat. Bring to a boil and let boil until the water is almost completely evaporated.
- Then add the butter, curry powder, sliced chili pieces and stir. Let fry for a minute or two.
- Add in the onion, ginger, garlic, Turmeric powder, curry leaves, tomato, and salt. Mix well.
- Next turn the heat down low, add the three sauces, and stir to coat. Plate and drizzle over some lime juice. Serve immediately.
