Sri Lankan rice and chicken congee(kanji).

Step 1

Making the coconut chutney/paste(thovayal).Place all the ingredient in a grinder and blitz until you have a fine paste, season with salt if necessary, place it in a container and refrigerate until you use.

Step 3

You can also make extra and refrigerate but use it within three days.

Step 5

Making the rice and chicken kanji(congee).Have all the ingredients prepared and ready to make the kanji(congee).

Step 7

Wash the rice and chicken breast(the whole chicken) and set aside.

Step 9

Use a large pan, as the volume of the congee increases when the rice is cooked and coconut milk is added.

Step 11

Place the pan over medium heat and pour in the oil, add the sliced onions, turmeric, pandan leaves, cinnamon and shredded carrots.

Step 13

Cook for 2-3 minutes until all the ingredients turn soft while the onion slightly brown.

Step 15

Pour in water, add garlic, fenugreek seed and chicken breast into the pan(see notes above on adding chicken to the kanji). season with salt and cook over medium heat.

Step 17

While the rice cooks, check on the chicken breast, remove the chicken when it is completely cooked(this might take 10-15 minutes).

Step 19

Once you’ve removed the chicken breast from the pan, let it cool for a few minutes then shred(if it is still hot use two forks to do this quickly).

Step 21

Add the shredded chicken to the cooking rice and let it simmer until water is reduced by half. using a wooden spoon mash the rice a little to break the grains.

Step 23

Pour in thin coconut milk and slow-simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, followed by thick coconut milk, once you add coconut milk(both thin and thick), at no point should you let it boil but continue to slow-simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes.

Step 25

Check for seasoning of salt and immediately remove the pan from direct heat or the porridge will continue to cook in the remaining heat and thicken.

Step 27

If you find the porridge still too thick, pour 1/2 cup of water.

Step 29

Add thovayal or deep-fried and seasoned onions and garlic crispies, serve warm.