Chicken Chettinad

Servings: 4 persons
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: medium
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Chicken Chettinad is a classic flavorful dish from the Chettinad cuisine

Ingredients

Chicken – 750 gms (with bones, cut into medium pieces)

For Marination

– Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 1/2 tsp

– Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder – 3 tsp

– Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp

– Salt – 2 1/2 tsp

– Lemon – 1 medium size

For Chettinad Masala

– Corriander Seeds – 1 Tbsp

– Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp

– Fennel Seeds – 1 Tbsp

– Cinnamon – 1″

– Green Cardamom – 2 nos

– Black Peppercorns – 10-12 nos

– Cloves – 5-6 nos

– Red Chillies – 4 nos

– Ginger – 1Tbsp (roughly chopped)

– Garlic – 1 Tbsp (roughly chopped)

– Poppy Seeds – 2 Tsp

– Grated Coconut – 1 cup (freshly grated coconut)

For Curry

Onions – 3 medium (finely chopped)

Tomato – 4 medium (boiled and skin removed)

Oil – 5 Tbsp

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Directions

Clean and wash chicken thoroughly. Place it in a bowl
Add juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and salt.
Mix well and keep in refrigrator for 30 minutes
In a small pan and put it on medium heat. Take 1 tbsp of oil. Saute corriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns for 5 minutes or until fragrant
Add chopped ginger and garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes
Add poppy seeds and grated coconut. Saute well for 4-5 minutes
Add 1/4 cup of water and continue to saute till water almost evaporated
Allow the masala to cool
Make light slits on the tomato lengthwise. Boil these for 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove skin and chop these roughly, keep it aside
Chop the onion finely and keep aside
Grind cooled masala finely in the blender with little water. Adjust water so that masala is finely ground
In a pan, take 4 tbsp of oil
Once oil is heated, added finely chopped onion. Saute until onion turns brown. Add 10-12 curry leaves and saute for a minute
Add ground masala and fry it well unless it starts releasing oil. Add little water while frying so that masala does not turn dry
Add boiled and chopped tomato and saute well until tomato gets well blended with masala
Add chicken. Mix well and saute for 2-3 minutes
Add very little water, 1 1/2 tsp salt and cook covered for 5 minutes
Adjust water if the curry is too dry and cook for another 2-3 minutes
Add 1/2 lemon juice, mix well
Serve with curry leaves

Chicken Chettinad