Chicken Chettinad

Chicken Chettinad is  a very spicy and delicious dish from my neighbouring state Tamil Nadu.Many ingredients go into this chicken chettinad but the process is simple.This goes well with rice  and chappathis.


My husband had a misconception that chicken tastes best when eaten outside.Cannot blame him.Born into a Brahmin family he was introduced to non-veg only when he started sailing.In the first few  months of marriage i never tried chicken at home either.But then i got Lakshmi Nair's recipe book as a gift and i tried this out. There has been no looking back.Now he loves chicken made at home!!!!And this is one thing he wants  on the menu when he signs off.And he loves it with Jeera rice.  I would recommend it.

This chicken is for people who love coconut.The gravy primarily is coconut which is ground to a paste.

Chicken Chettinad


Chicken- 1 kg( cut into medium pieces)

Onion 1

Oil-1/2 cup

 Red chilli powder- 2 tablespoon

Star anise-1

Ginger( finely chopped)-1 tablespoon

Garlic(finely chopped)-1 tablespoon

Grated coconut- 2 cup

 Khus khus( poppy seeds)-2 teaspoons

Saunf-1 teaspoon

Cinnamon-2 pieces

Cardamom-4

Cloves-5

Turmeric-3/4 teaspoon

Garam masala powder-3/4  teaspoon

Tomato( finely chopped)-3 medium

Lemon  juice- of ½ lemon

Salt-as per taste

Dhania leaves-1/2 cup

Curry leaves- 10-15

Method


1)Grind  coconut,khas khas,saunf,cloves,cinnamon,cardamom and turmeric to a fine paste.

2)Heat oil in a thick bottom pan and sauté onions in it till light brown.To this add ginger and garlic and also star anise.Saute well.

3)Add red chilli powder to this  and when the raw taste is gone,add the coconut paste to it.Saute well.

4)Add the chicken pieces to this and sauté for 10 minutes.Add salt and the chopped tomato to this. Wait till the tomatoes turn mashy and then add 2 cups of water.Let the chicken boil in this.

5)When the chicken pieces are boiled and the gravy becomes thick and covers the chicken pieces,add lemon juice.Garnish with dhania and curry leaves.

Serve with jeera rice,plain rice or rotis. Bread and this curry and idlis with this  curry will also taste good.

Yes idlis and chicken are a vow combination!!!

( If you do not have khus khus , skip it.. will still taste good)