This is one of the gems of Chettinaad recipes has the specialty of two strong flavours i.e. coconut and curry leaves.The freshly ground Chettinaad masala with ginger and garlic makes this dish a winner.
Let's start with the ingredients list
1 kg chicken, cut into 16 pieces on the bone
2 tbls oil
15 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup curry leaves
Salt to taste
4 tbsp Cashew nut paste
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
4 tsp sugar
1/2 cup chopped fresh corainder leaves
For Chettinaad Masala
1/4 cup oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 -1/2 tbsp of coriander seeds
5 green cardamoms
2 one-inch cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
1 star anise
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 black cardamoms
1/4 cup curry leaves
5 dried red chillies
1/4 cup scraped coconut
10-12 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 medium onions, sliced
1 inch ginger piece, roughly chopped
For Garnish
1 tsp scraped coconut
Method
1.To make the Chettinaad Masala, heat the oil in a non stick pan.Add the cumin seeds,black peppercorns,coriander seeds,green cardamoms,cinnamon,cloves,star anise,fennel seeds,black cardamons, curry leaves,red chilies,coconut,garlic, onions and ginger and saute for five to seven minutes or till fragrant.Cool and grind to a fine paste with one cup of water.This gives one and half cups of masala.
2.Heat two tablespoons oil in a deep non-stick pan.Add the garlic and onions and saute for 5 to 7 mins or till well browned.Add the tomato puree and curry leaves.Cook the tomatoes till oil start releasing from the masala. Now add the ground masala and saute this masala until well blended with onion and tomato. To this add the Chicken pieces in batches and saute each batch of 4 to 5 pieces until a nice coated while you add the next batch of chicken.
3.Once the entire chicken pieces are added and well sauteed with the masala add the salt and Cashew paste and mix well.Add the tamatind pulp and 1 cup of water and mix well.Cook for 5-10 mins.
4.Add the crushed black peppercorns and sugar and mix well.Cook for some more time till the chicken is well done.Keep stirring in between so ensure that the masala does not stick to the bottom.
5.Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly add the coriander leaves and mix.Serve hot garnished with coconut.
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