Meals · Andhra Pradesh

Chicken Gongura

Andhra's beloved gongura kodi: chicken cooked with a mountain of sour gongura (red sorrel) leaves and fiery Guntur chillies into a tangy, deep green-brown curry.

Prep 25 min · Cook 45 min · Total 70 min · Serves 4

Ingredients

Gongura paste

• 2 bunches Gongura (red sorrel) leaves
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 6 Guntur dried red chillies
• 3 Green chillies

Curry

• 750 g Chicken on the bone, curry cut
• ½ tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
• 4 tbsp Groundnut oil
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• 2 Onions, finely chopped
• 1 ½ tsp Red chilli powder
• 2 tsp Ground coriander
• 1 tsp Garam masala
• 1 ¼ tsp Salt

Method

1. Marinate. Rub the chicken with the turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and 1/2 tsp of the salt and leave while you make the paste.
2. Cook the gongura. Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry the dried Guntur chillies until they darken slightly. Lift them out. Add the gongura leaves and green chillies to the same pan and stir until the leaves wilt down to a dark mush, about 6 minutes. Blend with the fried chillies to a coarse paste.
3. Temper and fry onions. Heat the groundnut oil in a heavy pan. Add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, the cumin and curry leaves. Add the onions and fry until golden brown.
4. Cook the chicken. Add the chicken and fry on high for 5 minutes until it loses its pink colour. Stir in the chilli powder, coriander and remaining salt, add 1/2 cup water, cover and cook on low until tender, about 15 minutes.
5. Add the gongura. Stir in the gongura paste and garam masala. Cook uncovered on medium, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes until the curry thickens and oil floats on top.
6. Serve. Taste for salt and sourness. Serve hot with plain rice and a spoon of ghee, or with jowar roti.

Tips

Gongura's sourness varies by bunch. Add three quarters of the paste first, taste, then add the rest. Leftover paste keeps a week in the fridge under a film of oil and makes an instant pachadi.