Chicken Chettinad

                         Another chicken dish after a long time. It was photographed long back and was not posted due to lack of time. Nowadays majority of my time is spend, moderating the fights between the brothers. Gasp!! It seems they have no other games to play, nowadays. If anybody had to see me standing between them, hands outstretched in a ninja style, I would more or less look like a pressure cooker ready to explode. And it's a pleasure that no body can see me wiggling in between them like a wrestling referee. What's more, they have managed to loosen the space bar (the space bar of all keys!!)on my computer's key pad; and typing a few lines is another kind of wrestling!! phew! It's easier to post a dish with no write ups and ramblings on my part, but I hate to sound like an old cook book. That's the reason why they get procrastinated every now and then.
                         I think I have mentioned earlier that we are a family  which is not very much fond of chicken dishes and gets weary of them too soon unless you try different dishes all the time. So over the years I have learned to experiment on newer flavours and preparations of chicken every time I have to make it.
                     Chettinad cuisine is a South Indian cuisine which is one of the spiciest and most aromatic cuisine in India. The chefs of chettiyar community in southern Tamilnadu were considered as master chefs.

                         We have a restaurant here called Anjappar which specialises in Chettinad cuisine and we were actually smitten by this chicken curry we had from there; and I had to make it, the next time we prepared chicken at home. Luckily I got a magazine which had it's current edition introducing Chettinad cuisine, and I dived in for my chicken recipe. It tasted, very much like the restaurant version and I was quiet pleased with the out come. Very different from other Indian chicken preparations and yes,  very spicy. I made it by the slow cooking method, not pressure cooking it and the result was fantastic. The gravy was nicely coated on the chicken and the flavour was outstanding.. Try cooking it slow on the burner top if you have enough time.. it would be worth spending all that energy and time.

The Recipe:

1 kg chicken, skinned with bone in

2 onions chopped

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

2 tomatoes chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 sprig of curry leaves

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp veg.oil

1 cup water

Salt to taste

For grinding:

One cup grated coconut

6 dry red chillies

1/2 tsp pepper corns

1 tsp kus kus or poppy seeds

2  tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 stick of cinnamon (4 inch length)

4 cloves

1 cardamom

Method:

  Heat a little oil in pan and roast the grated coconut till light brown. Add the rest of the ingredients for grinding and roast till aroma comes out. Make sure you don't burn the coconut and spices by stirring now and then. Allow it to cool and grind to a fine paste.

                  Heat oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and fry onions till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few minutes. Add turmeric powder, tomatoes, curry leaves and salt. Cook till the tomatoes become mushy and the oil separates. Now add the ground masala, water and chicken pieces. Mix well. Cover and cook slowly, till done. Stir in between to ensure even cooking and to prevent the gravy from burning. Switch off when the gravy is thick and coated evenly on the chicken pieces. Garnish with curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chappathis.