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Ruchik Randhap

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Chicken Chettinad


I’ve been waiting to try out the Chicken Chettinad since the time I ate it in a small restaurant in Bangalore some aeons ago. Never thought I had the recipe sitting right inside my Sanjeev Kapoor collection on my book shelf. What triggered me to flip through the book was when I saw it on my friend/blogger Cherie’s blog and from that day on I have decided to go through all the recipes in my existing (and ever growing) collection of recipe books and toss them away (read ‘donate’) if I haven’t cooked even one dish from it for over a year. Looks like my New Year’s resolution has already been made. At least this will help me focus on the important things in life and make the much needed space on my book shelf for better things.
By the way, I totally agree with Cherie that although Chicken Chettinad was born in Tamil Nadu it tastes a lot like a Mangalorean dish – replete with a host of tongue tickling spices and grated coconut that makes it well, almost a cousin of the Kori Aajadina (Chicken Sukka). The minor difference would be the generous use of fragrant spices like Fennel (Saunf) & Star Anise (which is the dominant flavour) in the Chicken Chettinad. We Mangaloreans use a lot of tamarind in our curries which is replaced by the tomato here. Apparently in some regions of Tamil Nadu, this dish is prepared without the coconut, so you may skip the same, however, I think it tastes bests with some coarsely ground coconut.


By the way, if the Mangaloreans have’nt noticed yet, the serving dish used here is made of ‘pouli’ (in Konkani) or the Areca nut palm leaf which are eco friendly and are used to make plates & dishes meant for a one time use. I see these are catching up in Mangalore where caterers use them to serve food. I was quite impressed with them when my mum bought me a pack (knowing my latest obsession of collecting cutlery for the blog). I went and bought another pack of smaller bowls from Nilgiris Supermarket, opp S.D.M College, M.G. Road, Mangalore
So well, isn’t it a case of presenting Chettinad in a Mangalorean way? 😉



Chicken Chettinad
Serves 4


You Need:

  • 1 kg chicken
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1 large sprig or 10-12 curry leaves (karipatta)
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander (for garnish)
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tbsp oil for frying

For the masala

  • 6-8 long dry red chillies (I used Bedgi) * see notes
  • 2 tsp poppy seeds (khus khus)
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 inch piece cinnamon
  • 3 green cardamoms
  • 1/2 star anise (chakri phool)
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
  • 1 cup or 1/2 a grated coconut
  • 2 inches ginger
  • 6 garlic flakes
  • 2-3 tsp oil for roasting
Masala powders
  • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder (you may skip this) * see notes
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Method:
1. Clean the chicken and cut it into medium size pieces. Wash and drain on a colander.
2. Heat some oil in a a skillet/tawa and roast the long dry red chillies, poppy seeds, coriander and cumin seeds, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, star anise and grated coconut and grind to a coarse paste along with ginger & garlic.
3. Heat oil in a large wok/kadhai and fry the onions till golden. Toss in the curry leaves and fry for a few seconds and then add the ground paste and saute for some time. Add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder and the turmeric powder and fry for a couple of minutes
4. Add the chicken pieces, mix well and cook for 5 minutes on a medium high flame. Add salt to taste and 1 cup water, lime juice. Cover & cook till done. If you want more gravy add a little extra water to achieve the desired consistency.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice or chapathis

Notes:
You may use 6 red chillies and skip the the chilli powder if your tolerance to spice is low. You can also use Kashmiri chillies if you don’t have the Bedgi variety and add the red chilli powder.
The original recipe asks for 1 tsp chilli powder which increases the spice level of this dish

 


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Comments

  5. May says

    One of my hit recipes from Sanjeev Kapoor's cook book!! Thanks for the recipe Shireen as all my books are gathering dust in my sis's attic..:(

    Reply

  16. Fatak says

    Thank you so much for the lovely recipe.
    Made it yesterday and it looked just like in the pic here.And it was delicious, of course.

    Reply

  21. Dipti says

    I just tried this today and it was absolutely delicious. I however forgot to roast the dried ingredients in oil, instead just dry roasted them. love all your recipies Shireen.

    Pls can you tell me if it really makes a difference in taste if I dry roast or roast in lil oil?

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Dipti,

      Thank you so much for your feedback! I am so glad that you liked this dish. Well, roasting in oil gives a slightly different and enhanced taste but its not much so it is perfectly fine to just dry roast them!

      Reply

  22. Jessie DSouza says

    Hey Shireen,
    I am a fan of your recipes. I tried this today and it tasted heavenly. I have also tried your pathrode…and we all gulped it in one sitting. That’s the first time ever I made pathrode in my life. My MIL was pleasantly surprised as she knew that I don’t know to cook.

    Thank you for creating this blog and wonderful Recipes.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Jessie, thanks a ton for the wonderful feedback! Happy to hear that this recipe and the pathrode recipe also turned out so well! Do stay tuned for more recipes!

      Reply
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