← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 750 g chicken on the bone (curry cut)
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1¼ tsp Salt
• 120 g freshly grated coconut (or frozen)
• 10 dried Kashmiri or byadgi chillies
• 1½ tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
• 8 cloves Garlic
• 15 g tamarind (a small walnut-sized piece) or 1 tbsp paste
• 2 tbsp Ghee
• 2 Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 250 ml Water
• 1 can tin of coconut milk (400 ml)

Method

1. Rub the chicken with the turmeric and half the salt and set aside.
2. Dry-roast the chillies, coriander, cumin, peppercorns and fenugreek in a pan over low heat for 2–3 min, until fragrant; the fenugreek should turn light brown, not dark, or it will be bitter.
3. Blend the roasted spices with the coconut, garlic, tamarind and about 150 ml water to a smooth, brick-red paste.
4. Heat the ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat and fry the onions for 8–10 min until golden. Add the curry leaves, then the masala paste, and fry for 5 min, stirring, until it thickens and smells toasty.
5. Add the chicken, the rest of the salt and the 250 ml water. Cover and simmer on low for 20 min, stirring now and then.
6. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer gently, uncovered, for 5–8 min until the chicken is tender and reaches 75°C (165°F). Don’t let it boil hard or the coconut milk can split. Serve with neer dosa, rice or crisp kori rotti.

Tips

• Use coconut oil instead of ghee to make it dairy-free.
• Like most curries, it tastes even better the next day.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Archana's Kitchen My Food Story