Chettinad Chicken Curry

Name: Chettinad Chicken Curry
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu
Ingredients: 800g bone-in, cut into curry pieces chicken; 15 small (about 200g), peeled and halved shallot; 2 medium, chopped tomato; 10 cloves garlic; 2 inch piece, roughly chopped ginger; 2 sprigs curry leaves; 4 tbsp sesame oil; 8, stems snapped off dried red chilli; 3 tbsp coriander powder; 2 tsp whole black pepper; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 2 tsp fennel seeds; 1 tbsp poppy seeds; 1/2 cup, freshly grated coconut; 1 inch stick cinnamon; 4 cloves; 1 whole star anise; 1 tsp stone flower; 1 bay leaf; 1/2 tsp turmeric; to taste salt; 300ml water; 3 tbsp, chopped coriander leaves

bone-in chicken in a freshly roasted masala of pepper, fennel and stone flower

dairy freeegg freegluten freenut free

Chettinad Chicken Curry — Photo: Andy Li · CC0

Prep25 min

Cook45 min

Active70 min

Plus20 min chilling

Serves4

Difficultymoderate

Per serving515 kcal

Allergens in Chettinad Chicken Curry: sesame.

Ingredients

Quantities for 4.

800g bone-in, cut into curry pieces Chickenthigh and drumstick hold up better than breast
15 small (about 200g), peeled and halved Shallotsambar onions, not big onions
2 medium, chopped Tomato
10 cloves Garlic
2 inch piece, roughly chopped Ginger
2 sprigs Curry Leaves
4 tbsp Sesame OilIndian gingelly oil, not toasted East Asian sesame oil
8, stems snapped off Dried Red Chilli
3 tbsp Coriander Powderor 4 tbsp whole coriander seeds, dry-roasted and ground with the rest
2 tsp whole Black Pepper
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1 tbsp Poppy Seeds
1/2 cup, freshly grated Coconut
1 inch stick Cinnamon
4 Cloves
1 whole Star Anise
1 tsp Stone Flowerkalpasi, the black lichen that gives Chettinad masala its smoke
1 Bay Leafoptional
1/2 tsp Turmeric
to taste Salt
300ml Water
3 tbsp, chopped Coriander Leavesto finishoptional

Cookware

stovetop, kadhai, blender

Ingredient names in English →

Checked against the ingredient list for ten allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, mustard, soy and gluten. Brands vary, so read the label on anything new to you.

Before you start

Rub the chicken with the turmeric and 1 tsp salt then cover and refrigerate it 20 minutes while you roast the masala.
Grate the coconut fresh if you can. Desiccated coconut roasts too fast and turns bitter.
The masala is ground dry-then-wet, so have a small blender jar ready; a large one will not catch the spices.

Method

Dry-roast the red chillies, coriander powder, black pepper, cumin, fennel, poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and stone flower in a dry pan over low heat for 4-5 minutes.Low heat only. The moment the fennel smells sweet and the pan starts to smoke faintly, take it off. Burnt pepper cannot be rescued.
Add the grated coconut to the same pan and roast a further 3 minutes until it turns the colour of weak tea.
Cool the mixture completely, then grind to a fine powder, add 100ml water and grind again to a smooth thick paste.Grinding hot spices steams the jar and gives you a gummy paste instead of a fine one.
Heat the gingelly oil in a kadhai and add the bay leaf and curry leaves; they will spit for a few seconds.
Add the shallots and fry over medium heat for 8 minutes until soft and browning at the edges.
Grind the ginger and garlic to a coarse paste, add it to the pan and fry 2 minutes until the raw smell goes.
Add the tomatoes and cook 5 minutes until they collapse and the oil starts to separate at the sides.
Stir in the ground masala paste and fry on low for 6-8 minutes, scraping the base, until the oil rises dark red around the edges.This fry-down is the whole dish. Under-fry it and the curry tastes of raw spice powder.
Add the chicken and turn it in the masala for 5 minutes so every piece is coated and sealed.
Pour in 200ml water, season with salt, cover and simmer 20-25 minutes until the chicken is tender and the gravy clings.Chettinad kuzhambu is a coating gravy, not a soup. If it looks thin, uncover and boil hard for 3 minutes.
Rest off the heat 5 minutes, then scatter the coriander leaves and serve with rice or dosai.

Safe temperatures: Chicken and duck are done at 74°C / 165°F, taken at the thickest part and clear of the bone. Reheat leftovers to 74°C / 165°F. FoodSafety.gov

Storage

Keeps 3 days refrigerated and tastes better on day two. Reheat gently on the stovetop with 2-3 tbsp water; do not microwave on full power or the coconut splits.

Nutrition Low estimate

One serving of Chettinad Chicken Curry (427 g) is about 515 calories, or 121 calories per 100 g.

High protein: 48 g a serving, 37% of the calories

	Per serving427 g	Per 100 g
Calories	515 kcal	121 kcal
Protein	47.5 g	11 g
Carbohydrate	22.6 g	5 g
of which sugars	6.5 g	2 g
Fibre	7.9 g	2 g
Fat	27.2 g	6 g
of which saturated	7.0 g	2 g
of which unsaturated	17.8 g	4 g

Ingredients given to taste count as zero, so the real figures run a little higher. Nearest database match used for curry leaves, stone flower. Estimated from raw ingredients using USDA FoodData Central.

More like this: Gluten-free Indian recipes · Dairy-free Indian recipes · Tamil Nadu recipes

Times, yields, allergens and nutrition are guidance. Use your own judgement on doneness and on storing. More in About.