Looks like I’m on a Chettinad cooking spree these days!! I have made quite a few chettinad dishes in the last few weeks. This Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry is definitely a must try while stepping into the world of Chettinad Cuisine, one of the most aromatic and spiciest cuisines of India. Chettinad cuisine, from the Chettinad region of the South Indian state Tamil Nadu, is known for it’s distinctly aromatic, spicy and fiery style. Freshly ground masalas and spices are the hallmarks of Chettinad cuisine. The rich concoction of spices and herbs lend a characteristic taste that you will remember for a lifetime! With lots of flavours going on, finding the perfect blend of spices is the key.
How did I stay away this long without posting this awesome recipe on my blog? I have now reached the point where the hard drive that holds my pictures is threatening to fill up. So, decided to do some clean up, which was when I found this Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry along with a few more recipes. I wasn’t happy with the pictures taken almost 2 years back but didn’t have the heart to discard them, as I know how much effort I had put THEN to click these. These shots may not be the best ones, but they do mean a lot to me and they evoke some memories as a novice photographer. Photographs have a way of transporting us back to the time they were taken and dredging up hidden memories…..Isn’t it??
The very thought of roasting and grinding your spices may sound daunting, but it is very quick and easy. You don’t need to use the ready-made powders. And, don’t forget the quintessential ……loads of curry leaves!! Any curry made with roasted coconut only gets better the next day, when the flavours have had time to develop and the curry itself thickens and coats the chicken pieces beautifully.
I’m making this Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry in pressure cooker, if you don’t have one, just make this in a deep pan and simmer it for a long time. As always cooking curry is equally therapeutic and fun for me. You just need a basic recipe, then go about throwing in as much spice, or as little, as you like. Taste as you go….and you are done!!
Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry is a lovely base not only for chicken, but for any other meat and also for vegetables. Sometimes, I make it with just a few boiled eggs and pair it up with idiyappam….YUMMM!!
Warning….. This curry is not for the faint-hearted!
Off to Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry!!
Step-by-Step process to make Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry:
- Clean chicken, cut into medium pieces and marinate with ingredients listed under ‘To marinate’ for at least 30 minutes.
- In a pan, add ingredients listed under ‘ To roast & grind’ except coconut, ginger and garlic. Dry roast spices over low heat till slight aroma comes.
- Turn off the heat and let them cool.
- In a blender, grind all the ingredients in the pan to a fine paste adding some water. Set aside.
Let’s cook Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry:
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat, add fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, dry red chillies, bay leaves, marathi moggu(missing in pic), star anise (missing in pic) and Kalpasi (missing in pic). Stir for a munute till you get a nice aroma.
- Add chopped shallots and curry leaves. Sauté till shallots turns translucent.
- Then add chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder.
- Mix well and cook till tomatoes turn mushy.
- Now, add in the ground paste and mix well.
- Add marinated chicken, mix well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add required water and salt, few more curry leaves and some chopped coriander.
- Cover and pressure cook it in medium high heat for 2 whistles. Then turn off the heat.
- Open the lid once pressure releases, garnish with coriander and serve.
This Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry goes excellently with plain rice. But, I love this with our traditional South Indian dishes like idli, dosas or appams. It goes exceptionally well with the slightly thick & soft dosas, so that you can use them to literally wipe your plate clean.
A Quick Summary:
Spicy Chettinad Chicken Curry Recipe | Chettinad Chicken Kuzhambu
Ingredients
To marinate:
- 500 grams Chicken
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
To Roast & Grind:
- 5 Dry red chillies
- 1 Tablespoon Coriander Seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 1 Green Cardamom
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Cm Cinnamon stick
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 petals Star Anise
- 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon Desiccated Coconut
- 6 Garlic pods
- 1 inch Ginger piece
For the curry:
- Seasoning:
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1/ 2 teaspoon Fennel seeds
- 2 Dry red Chillies
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Cm Cinnamon stick
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 kapok buds
- 1 Star Anise
- Few Kalpasi
- Other Ingredients for Curry:
- 1/2 Cup Finely chopped Shallots
- Handful of Curry leaves
- 2 Tomatoes chopped
- 1 Cup Water
- Salt to taste
- Coriander leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Clean chicken and marinate it with ingredients under "To marinate" for 30 minutes.
- In a pan, add ingredients under "To roast & grind" except coconut, ginger and garlic. Dry roast spices over low heat till you get a slight aroma.
- Grind roasted spices along with coconut, ginger and garlic to a fine paste adding some water.
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker over medium heat, add ingredients under "Seasoning". Stir for a minute till you get a nice aroma.
- Add shallots, curry leaves & sauté till translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes & cook till tomatoes turn mushy.
- Now, add in the ground paste, marinated chicken and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add required water and salt, curry leaves & coriander.
- Cover and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Turn off the heat.
- Open the lid once pressure releases, garnish with coriander and serve.
My Notes:
- Adjust spice levels with red chillies to suit your heat tolerance. The measurements given here are for a spicy version.
- Do not over roast the spices for grinding, otherwise you will end up with bitter curry.
- Marinating chicken is very important to get soft and juicy chicken.
- Traditionally pearl onions (chinna vengayam) are used, but you can also use regular onion. The closest substitute to chinna vengayam I could find are small shallots.
- Instead of cooking in pressure cooker, you can also cook this curry in a pan.
- If you find that the curry is little watery, simmer it for few minutes till it reaches the required consistency. Similarly, If you feel the curry has thickened too much, add a little hot water and gently boil it again to loosen it.
- You can cook mutton and boiled eggs curry similarly.
- For a vegetarian version, add cubed potatoes and other vegetables, cut in same size to ensure even cooking.
- Do not miss out kapok buds, star anise & kalpasi for that authentic touch giving a unique flavour to the curry!!
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Do check out other CHICKEN RECIPES & CHETTINAD RECIPES from blog!!!
Many more to come!!…..STAY TUNED!!
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Happy Cooking 🙂
Cheers!!
Padma.
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