Sri Lankan Curry - What went wrong?

[toasty]

My sister brought back some Sri Lankan Curry spice mix and it had a basic recipe on the packet.

Fry chicken with 2 teaspoons of mix (all looks good), add yoghurt to make sauce (not good, yoghurt split).

So, what went wrong?

[OnTheOverrun]

I suspect the pan was too hot and you used oil. Try frying the spice mix in butter (or ghee if you can get it) than add chicken, cook on a low heat and then add the yoghurt gradually.

[Cactussed]

Yep. Cook dairy on too high a heat and it will split (same goes for cream).
Fry the chicken with the spices, then lower the heat (you may even want to chuck a little water in the pan to cool it) then add the other ingredients.

[toasty]

Thanks.

So, would the alternative of coconut milk be less likely to split?

[OnTheOverrun]

toasty said:

Thanks.

So, would the alternative of coconut milk be less likely to split?

Yep, coconut milk very unlikely to split but if the spices are designed for yoghurt, CM might be too strong a flavour.

[spikeyhead]

Adding yoghurt to a curry does a wonderful job of thickening it. Coconut milk won't add any thickening benefit.

[Agrilla]

Also, fat content has a part to play: low fat will split at a lower heat than full fat Greek yogurt for example