The Creamy Coconut Potato Curry That Tastes Like Sri Lanka

Q: Why Do You Saute the Veggies before Boiling?

The key here is flavour! While boiling the veggies with water, spices, coconut milk and potatoes may turn out to be tasty, there is no way it can be tastier than veggies that are sautéed. In addition, the most crucial part is cooking out the spices. Adding raw spices to liquid and simply boiling them is a disservice to the flavours locked in the spices and the only way to release the flavour is to cook them out.

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About this recipe

Ala Kiri Hodi is a creamy Sri Lankan coconut potato curry bursting with bold spices. Simple, comforting, and fully vegan, it makes the perfect weeknight dinner or satisfying lunch.

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Until making this dish, I had never cooked Sri Lankan food before, and I don’t think I’ve ever even been to a Sri Lankan restaurant!

I’m always on the lookout to try new cuisines and explore something new - that’s the point of this blog! I was approached by other amazing YouTube cooks to be a part of this Sri Lankan collaboration for the month of September, and I was happy to give it a go! After having an amazing experience with my Ginataang Salmon as my first venture into Filipino food, I was eager to dive into Sri Lankan cooking!

When investigating what to make for my first Sri Lankan experience, I saw that potato dishes are quite popular. If you know me, you know that I absolutely love potatoes, and I couldn’t live without them! This recipe stood out to me with the coconut cream and the fact that it seemed pretty easy to make and there were ingredients that I already use in my Indian cooking. The name translates to a potato curry in a coconut gravy, so that grabbed my attention!

This dish is quite mild and it can be made in almost one pot, making it an excellent weeknight dinner option! I really enjoyed this and I’d be eager to delve more into Sri Lankan cooking! If Sri Lankan cooking is a Destination Unseen for you, then try it out as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! I discuss more in my Make Cooking Fun!! how having a theme can inspire you in the kitchen, so if you try this recipe along with other Sri Lankan dishes, you could have an entire Sri Lankan week of cooking! If you’ve given this recipe a try, be sure to share it with me on Instagram by tagging me so I can see your wonderful Sri Lankan spread!

To follow along with me as we make Ala Kiri Hodi, don’t forget to watch the video! If you’re not already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when I upload all of my video recipes! I love to make them to complement the written recipes so you’re guaranteed success! Let’s get cooking!

What Kind of Potatoes Should I use For This Sri Lankan Potato Curry with Coconut Milk?▼

Waxy potatoes will work great for this dish, such as Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes. Anything that is creamy in the middle and has the classic, rich potatoey flavour will absorb the flavours from the coconut milk really well and enhance the dish. Try not to overcook the potatoes so that the final texture of the dish is more pleasing.

Creamy yellow coconut potato curry in a metal bowl, garnished with sliced onions and curry leaves.

Equipment Required

Instant Pot to boil potatoes (or you can boil them over the stove in a pot)
Pan
Cutting board
Chef’s knife
Wooden spoon
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Garlic press
Mortar and pestle
Spatula

Ingredients for Sri Lankan Coconut Potatoes

We’ll see what’s needed for our spice mixture and for the potato gravy. For the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, scroll to the bottom of this post or press the “Jump to Recipe” button! You can also use the recipe card to scale the recipe based on how many potatoes you have or how many mouths you want to feed. The other ingredients will automatically be adjusted - no mental math on your end!

For Amu Thuna Paha Kudu Spice Mix

For the Coconut Potatoes

Baby potatoes
Onion
Curry leaves
Garlic cloves
Green chilies
Turmeric
Coconut milk
Coconut oil
Coconut cream
Water
Lime juice
Salt, to taste

Sri Lankan coconut potato curry in a metal bowl, garnished with cashews and cilantro in creamy yellow sauce.

How to Make These Sri Lankan Coconut Potatoes

To Prepare the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu Spice Mix

Add the spices to a pan and turn the pan on medium-high heat.

Cumin seeds toasting in a stainless steel pan on medium-high heat for the spice mix.

Coriander seeds and cumin seeds toasting in a stainless steel pan on medium-high heat.

Roast while shaking the pan ever so often until the spices are fragrant and lightly toasted.

Toasted spice blend in a stainless steel pan, including cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds, lightly browned and fragrant.

Spices toasting in a stainless steel pan: cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fenugreek seeds.

Remove the spices from the pan, let them cool slightly. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle grind the spices to a coarse powder. Store in an airtight jar.

Toasted spice mixture in a stainless steel pan, lightly browned and fragrant before grinding.

Hand grinding toasted spices in a mortar with a pestle to coarse powder.

For the Coconut Potatoes

Wash the potatoes and scrub well. Boil or steam the potatoes until they are fork tender. Peel and set aside.

Hands peeling a boiled potato with skin partially removed, white plate of potatoes in background.

Hands peeling a boiled potato with skin partially removed, white plate of cooked potatoes in background.

Heat a wok on medium heat and once warm, add the coconut oil. Next, add the curry/kari leaves, onions, garlic, green chilies, turmeric and a pinch of salt.

Empty stainless steel wok on stovetop, ready for cooking ingredients.

Curry leaves and sliced green chilies sautéing in coconut oil in a wok on stovetop.

Sliced red onions and curry leaves sautéing in a stainless steel wok on a stovetop.

Sliced red onions, green chillies, and curry leaves sautéing in coconut oil in a wok.

Saute the onions until they turn translucent and the garlic has become fragrant. Keep stirring every few minutes.

Sautéing sliced red onions and curry leaves in coconut oil in a wok on stovetop.

Sautéed curry leaves and onions in a wok with turmeric and spices, being stirred with a red spatula.

Add the potatoes and 1 tsp of the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu spice mix and stir well. Cook with the onion mixture for 3-5 minutes.

Peeled potatoes cooking in a spiced onion mixture in a metal pot before adding coconut milk.

White potatoes and spices being added to sautéed onions and garlic in a pot during preparation of Sri Lankan coconut curry.

Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and continue to simmer gently until the gravy has thickened to your liking.

Creamy coconut milk being added to golden fried potatoes and caramelized onions in a pot for Sri Lankan curry.

Creamy yellow coconut curry with round potato balls simmering in sauce with fresh curry leaves.

Sliced potatoes simmering in a creamy yellow coconut curry sauce in a white pot.

Add coconut cream and taste to adjust for seasoning.

Coconut cream being stirred into a yellow curry pot with potatoes and pickles simmering in coconut milk.

Sri Lankan coconut potato curry simmering in creamy yellow sauce with whole potatoes in a white pot

Serve hot and enjoy!

Creamy yellow coconut curry with potatoes and green beans in a metal bowl, spoon lifting a potato.

Why Do You Saute the Veggies before Boiling?▼

The key here is flavour! While boiling the veggies with water, spices, coconut milk and potatoes may turn out to be tasty, there is no way it can be tastier than veggies that are sautéed. In addition, the most crucial part is cooking out the spices. Adding raw spices to liquid and simply boiling them is a disservice to the flavours locked in the spices and the only way to release the flavour is to cook them out.

Tips & Tricks

Store the spice mix in a glass jar to preserve its freshness. Use a funnel to make the transfer easy.
Use full fat coconut milk to achieve a thick gravy that tastes the best. Reduced fat coconut milk can be used if you prefer.
Be sure to cook out the spices first before adding in the coconut milk to create the gravy.
You can control the spice level by adding more or less green chilies.
If you notice any spices sticking on to the pan, add a splash of water to prevent it from burning.
If you are able to find pandan leaves, add them with the curry leaves.

Serving Suggestions

Based on my research, I’ve found that these Sri Lankan potatoes are traditionally served with coconut sambol - a mixture of coconut flakes, onion, chili powder and chili flakes - as well as yellow rice and/or string hoppers - a rice noodle dish. Because this was my first time cooking a Sri Lankan dish, I wasn’t sure how to pair this meal, but I think a lot of my Indian recipes will actually go quite well with this dish! If you want to create a fusion meal, here are some great accompaniments that will pair perfectly well with our Sri Lankan coconut potatoes!

Rice

Bread

Vegetarian

Meat

Chicken Tikka Masala

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!

Recipe by Anadi Misra

Ala Kiri Hodi - Sri Lankan Coconut Potatoes

Ala Kiri Hodi is a creamy Sri Lankan coconut potato curry bursting with bold spices. Simple, comforting, and fully vegan, it makes the perfect weeknight dinner or satisfying lunch.

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20 min

Prep

25 min

Cook

45 min

Total

servings

easy

Level

Ingredients

Tap any quantity to scale

For the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu spice mix

Ceylon cinnamon stick(broken into small pieces)Shop →
(1 g) fenugreek seedsShop →
(1 g) cumin seedsShop →
(1 g) fennel seedsShop →
(1 g) coriander seedsShop →

For the curry

baby potatoes · make your own
(15 ml) coconut oil
curry leavesShop →
medium onion(thinly sliced)
garlic clove(thinly sliced)
green chillies(thinly sliced)
(3 g) turmericShop →
coconut milk(full fat)Shop →
(60 ml) coconut cream(full fat)Shop →
water
salt(to taste)Shop →

Instructions

To prepare the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu spice mix

1
Add the spices to a pan and turn the pan on medium-high heat. Add the whole spices.
Add the spices to a pan and turn the pan on medium-high heat. Add the whole spices.
2
Roast while shaking the pan ever so often until the spices are fragrant and lightly toasted.
Roast while shaking the pan ever so often until the spices are fragrant and lightly toasted.
3
Remove the spices from the pan, let them cool slightly. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle grind the spices to a coarse powder. Store in an airtight jar.
Remove the spices from the pan, let them cool slightly. Using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle grind the spices to a coarse powder. Store in an airtight jar.

For the curry

1
Wash the potatoes and scrub well. Boil or steam the potatoes until they are fork tender. Peel and set aside.
Wash the potatoes and scrub well. Boil or steam the potatoes until they are fork tender. Peel and set aside.
2
Heat a wok on medium heat and once warm, add the coconut oil. Next, add the curry/kari leaves, onions, garlic, green chillies, turmeric and a pinch of salt.
Heat a wok on medium heat and once warm, add the coconut oil. Next, add the curry/kari leaves, onions, garlic, green chillies, turmeric and a pinch of salt.
3
Saute the onions until they turn translucent and the garlic has become fragrant. Keep stirring every few minutes.
Saute the onions until they turn translucent and the garlic has become fragrant. Keep stirring every few minutes.
4
Add the potatoes and 1 tsp of the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu spice mix and stir well. Cook with the onion mixture for 3-5 minutes.
Add the potatoes and 1 tsp of the Amu Thuna Paha Kudu spice mix and stir well. Cook with the onion mixture for 3-5 minutes.
5
Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and continue to simmer gently until the gravy has thickened to your liking. Add coconut cream and taste to adjust for seasoning.
Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and continue to simmer gently until the gravy has thickened to your liking. Add coconut cream and taste to adjust for seasoning.

Nutrition per serving

213

Calories

Protein

23g

Carbs

13g

Fat

Fiber

Sugar

599mg

Sodium

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Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen

Equipment Required