Are you a die-hard chicken lover?…..then get ready to drool!! Today I am sharing a delectable Classic Andhra Style Spicy Chicken curry recipe that is a speciality from my hometown, a classic Andhra style chicken curry. This simple creation is composed of chicken pieces simmered in a broth of ground spices.
The secret to this Classic Andhra Style Spicy Chicken curry is the perfect masala base, which adds a magical touch to this curry. An artfully blended ground paste that releases plenty of flavours to form a nice strong curry is my favourite kind. Generally in Indian cooking, the browned onions with spices are expected, however, the addition of a nice flavourful ground paste to this adds the oomph and provides the extra texture and flavour that a chicken curry needs.
A good Indian curry always turns into that nice golden brown when patience is shown while cooking the onions and sautéing the ground spices, which blends well into the soft and tender meat. We like our onions soft and brown to get an almost caramelized flavour to the curry to balance out the bold spices we like to add.
It is pungent yet pleasing to the senses. This palatal joy is definitely going to be followed by a runny nose and watery eyes signifying a typical Andhra style Chicken Curry 😉
Off to the recipe for Classic Andhra Style Spicy Chicken curry!!
Step-by-Step process in making Classic Andhra Style Spicy Chicken curry:
- Please follow the recipe card at the end of the post for measurements.
- Clean and wash chicken. Cut chicken into pieces of required size.
- Marinate the chicken with chilli powder, turmeric and salt under “To marinate” and set it aside for about 20 minutes.
- These are the ingredients required to grind to a paste.
- Grind ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cloves, poppy seeds and desiccated coconut in a blender to a fine paste. First powder them finely without adding water. Then use slightly hot water, soak for a min and grind to a fine paste. Soaking in hot water aids easy grinding of the poppy seeds.
Let’s start cooking the curry:
- Finely chop onion and green chillies.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season with dry masalas and stir for a min till you can smell the aroma of the spices.
- To this add chopped onions, green chillies and sauté till they are slightly brown in colour. Add curry leaves and stir for a minute.
- Now, add marinated chicken and sauté for 2 min.
- Add the ground masala paste, remaining chilli powder and turmeric powder under the heading “Other ingredients”. Fry till the raw smell goes off. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Now add required water till the chicken immerses. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy to suit your requirement.
- Close the lid of the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes with occasional stirring. Then simmer and cook for 5 minutes till the chicken is fully cooked, soft and tender. When the oil starts to separate, turn off the heat.
- This can also be cooked in a pressure cooker for about 3 whistles following the same process.
- Finally sprinkle garam masala powder and garnish with coriander.
- Serve with vegetable pulao, coconut milk rice, roti, paratha, idli, dosa, vada or just with plain rice accompanied with rasam.
- Or serve chicken curry with garelu, a delectable combination from Andhra!!
A Quick Summary:
Classic Andhra Style Spicy Chicken curry
Ingredients
- To marinate:
- 600 grams Chicken cleaned and cut to required size
- 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- To grind:
- 1 inch Ginger
- 6 garlic pods
- 1 cm cinnamon stick
- 4 Cloves
- 1 Cardamom
- 2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 2 Tablespoons desiccated coconut
- ¼ cup hot water for grinding
- To season:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable Oil
- 1 cm cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 1 cardamom
- 1 bay leaf
- Other Ingredients:
- 1 large Onion finely chopped
- 2 to 3 green Chilies finely chopped, divided
- A sprig of Curry leaves
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of red chilli powder Adjust to suit your spice levels
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- Required salt
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ cup finely chopped coriander
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken with ingredients under “To marinate” and set it aside for about 20 min.
- In the mean time grind ingredients under “To grind” in a blender to a fine paste using hot water.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season with ingredients under “To season” and stir for a min till you smell the aroma of the spices.
- Now add chopped onions, green chillies and sauté till they are slightly brown in colour. Add curry leaves.
- Add marinated chicken and sauté for 2 min and add some coriander.
- Now, add ground masala paste, remaining chilli powder and turmeric powder under the heading “Other ingredients”. Fry till the raw smell goes off.
- Now add required water till the chicken immerses and adjust salt. You can adjust the consistency of the gravy to suit your requirement.
- Close the lid of the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes with frequent stirring and then simmer for 5 minutes till the chicken is done and oil separates. Turn off the heat.
- This can also be cooked in a pressure cooker for about 3 whistles following the same process.
- Finally sprinkle garam masala powder, garnish with coriander and serve.
My Notes:
- The longer you marinate, better the flavours infuse into the chicken.
- Using hot water to grind the paste will aid the poppy seeds to grind easily.
- Cooking in pressure cooker saves time.
- The chicken lets out water, so add water accordingly.
- You can use ginger garlic paste in case you do not have fresh ginger and garlic and grind only the other ingredients for the paste, but definitely there is a difference in the taste.
Do check out other CHICKEN RECIPES from blog!!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
