Chicken is marinated, deep fried and tossed in a special spicy gravy and mixed in with tomatoes followed by stirred onions and veg. Sri Lankan food is very popular here in Toronto, there is a large Sri Lankan community where I live and this comes with a wide variety of restaurants and grocery stores. I once picked up an order of what they called ‘Chilli Chicken’. When I tasted this, I noticed that it didn’t taste like the Chilli Chicken I was used to.

I called my good old friend Henry who is an amazing cook and he pointed me to some videos that he loves to use. He also told me that the real name of this dish is ‘Deviled Chicken’ What fascinated me was some of the ingredients that had never used before like Pandan leaves, hot Banana Peppers & Sri Lankan Chilli paste. The recipe called for roasted Chilli powder, I did find it but it was only available in a large bag and was quite expensive, so I opted for regular Sri Lankan Chilli powder instead.

I used a few different videos to figure out the best approach for me to take to make this as delicious and practical as possible.

Sri Lankan Deviled Chicken

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Ingredients
  

Sauce mix

  • 3 tbsp Ketchup
  • 2 tbsps Soya sauce
  • 1 tsp Sri Lankan Chilli paste
  • 1 tsp Sugar

Chicken & Marinade

  • 2.2 lbs (1 kg) boneless Chicken
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp Sri Lankan Chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp Corn Starch

Onion & Veg stir fry

  • 1 cup Onion petals
  • 1/2 cup Banana Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Chillies 3-4 small chillies slit in half

Gravy

  • 5 cloves of Garlic approx & 1 inch piece Ginger (approx) – yield 3 tbsps
  • 4 – inch pieces of Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp red Chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tsp Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 2 tbsps Pandan leaves
  • 1 – 2 tsps Corn starch slurry if required
  • 1/2 cup Tomatoes cut in large cubes

Instructions
 

  • Add the sauce ingredients together and keep aside
  • Marinate the chicken with the salt, pepper, chilli powder and corn starch and deep-fry till cooked and golden brown
  • Heat some oil in a wok or kadai and add the onion petals, sliced banana pepper and green chillies
  • Remove once slightly caramelized
  • Pound the ginger and garlic together and add to the hot wok or kadai with some more oil
  • Add the cinnamon and saute
  • Add the red chilli flakes and the chilli powder
  • Add the turmeric and mix
  • Add the premixed sauces
  • Add the water and bring to the boil
  • Add the pandan leaves and allow it to boil for a minute
  • Add the cooked chicken and mix to coat
  • Add a tsp or so of the corn starch slurry if required
  • Add the tomatoes and the sautéed onion and veg