Chettinad Chicken
A fiery, aromatic chicken curry from Chettinad, built on a freshly dry-roasted masala of red chillies, black pepper, fennel, whole spices and coconut.
Prep 25 min · Cook 45 min · Total 70 min + 30 min marinade · Serves 4
Ingredients
Chicken
- 750 g Chicken, bone-in curry cut
- ¼ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Salt
Chettinad masala
- 2 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1 ½ tsp Black peppercorns
- 8 Dried red chillies
- 1 inch Cinnamon stick
- 4 Cloves
- 3 Green cardamom pods
- 1 Star anise
- 1 tsp Poppy seeds
- 1 tsp Kalpasi (stone flower)
- ¼ cup Fresh grated coconut
Gravy
- 3 tbsp Gingelly (sesame) oil
- 2 sprigs Curry leaves
- 15 Shallots, sliced
- 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 2 Tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
Method
- Marinate. Toss the chicken with the turmeric and salt and set aside while you make the masala.
- Roast the masala. In a dry pan on low heat, roast the coriander, cumin, fennel, pepper, chillies, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise and kalpasi until fragrant and a shade darker. Add the poppy seeds and coconut and roast until the coconut is golden. Cool, then grind with 1/4 cup water to a fine paste.
- Onions. Heat the oil in a heavy pot, add the curry leaves and shallots and cook until golden. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes.
- Tomatoes and masala. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook until soft. Add the masala paste and fry, stirring, until the oil starts to separate around the edges.
- Cook the chicken. Add the chicken and stir on high heat for 3 minutes to coat. Add 1 cup water, cover and simmer on low until the chicken is cooked through and the gravy is thick and clinging.
- Finish. Taste for salt, scatter with coriander and serve with rice, parotta or dosa.
Tips
Roast the spices slowly on low heat. Burnt chillies or pepper will make the whole curry bitter, and you can't fix it later.