Cola Chicken Curry Recipe
It’s not too far a stretch to imagine Coke, Pepsi, or other brand of cola finding it’s way into a curry. Here’s my Cola Chicken Curry, a recipe honed from experimentation with combinations of spices and other ingredients that I found to work very well with the flavour of this ever popular drink.
Whether you use a regular cola or a sugar free alternative in this cola chicken curry recipe, it retains a pleasant sweetness.
The complimentary ingredients give a clever balance, especially the lemon/lime and dark soy sauce. The spice balance is important, so do please stick to the recipe.
Grind the coriander seeds until coarse (about a quarter of their original size), and the cloves to a powder.
It makes a big difference doing it yourself compared with using pre-bought ground versions.
This recipe will serve 1-2. Enjoy with a Lemon Rice or your own choice of accompaniament.
Books by Richard Sayce
INGREDIENTS
- 1-1½ Cans of Cola (330-500ml), regular or diet (see Notes)
- 5-10cm Cassia Bark
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Black Cardomom, split open (optional)
- 2 tsp Ginger/Garlic Paste
- 1½ tsp Mix Powder
- 1 tsp Coarsely Ground Coriander Seeds
- ⅓ tsp Ground Cloves
- ½-2 tsp Chilli Powder (as to your heat preference)
- 330ml+ Base Gravy
- 60-75g Green Pepper, cut into triangles
- 175-200g of Pre-Cooked Chicken breasts/thighs or cook it from raw in the curry (see Notes)
- 1 TBSP Fresh Coriander Stalks, finely chopped
- 1 TBSP Lemon or Lime Juice
- 2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 1 TBSP Fresh Coriander Leaves, chopped
- A small handful of thinly sliced red or brown onion for garnish
METHOD
- Firstly the cola needs reducing to make it thicker. Put up a frying pan on high heat and pour in the cola. A wider pan is better as it will speed up the process. A 330ml can is just about enough for this recipe, but if you want the curry to have more cola flavour, simply add some more at this stage.
- Let cook for 10-12 minutes or until the cola has reduced to a third of its original volume. Pour into a bowl and set aside for later.
- In the same frying pan, back on a medium heat, add the oil, the star anise, the cassia bark, and optionally the split black cardamom. Let it heat up for 30 seconds.
- Add the ginger/garlic paste and stir continually until slughtly browned.
- Next put in the coarsley ground coriander seeds, the ground cloves, mix powder, and chilli powder. Add a small amount of base gravy (e.g. 30ml) and mix together.
- Stir continuously for 20-30 seconds, then turn the heat up to high, and add the green pepper, the coriander stalks, and 75ml of base gravy.
- Mix once, then leave to cook for 30 seconds without stirring.
- Add another 75ml of base gravy. Mix everything together making sure you scrape the sides and the bottom of the frying pan.
- Leave to cook again for 30-45 seconds without stirring.
- Add the chicken, 150ml of base gravy, the lemon (or lime) juice, and the dark soy sauce. Mix together ensuring the chicken is coated in some of the sauce.
- Leave to cook for a further minute on high heat then stir in the cola syrup with small handful of freshly chopped coriander leaves.
- Let cook down for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced to a medium consistency and the chicken is properly cooked throughout.
- Taste and season with extra lemon juice, salt and/or soy sauce as desired.
- Serve, garnished with finely sliced red or brown onion slices, a lemon or lime wedge, and extra fresh coriander.
NOTES
- Much more insights and useful cooking tips for cooking BIR style curries are in my Curry Compendium and Indian Restaurant Curry at Home Volume 1 cookbooks.
- All spoon measurements are level (1 tsp = 5ml, 1 TBSP = 15ml).
- I have little or no belief that using a premium brand of cola for this recipe will be better than a cheaper version.
- For more information about using chicken or other meats in my curry recipes, including how to pre-cooked them, please read this article.
- Always keep raw chicken away from other ingredients, and thoroughly clean everything that it’s been in contact with before cooking with it.
- I hope you enjoy this Cola Chicken Curry recipe. Please see the Recipes page on this website for many more recipes, and visit the Misty Ricardo’s Curry Kitchen YouTube Channel for detailed tuition.
