One of the most popular Mangalorean dishes is the Chicken Sukka – it is probably made by all the communities in Mangalore in varied in degrees of spiciness. The spiciest I believe is made by the Bunt community famous for their delicious spicy food. Chicken Sukka is a dry dish made with a beautiful blend of spices and coconut. The authentic way of preparing this ofcourse involves the effort of dry roasting the spices, grinding them to a paste and grinding the coconut to a very coarse paste and allowing the Chicken to cook in this spicy mixture. However, the easier & quicker version was what my mother followed – by using the very versatileΒ Bafat PowderΒ instead of grinding individual spices to arrive at theΒ masala.Β
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Kori Aajadina
Adapted from:Β Cherie’s Stolen Recipes
You Need:
- 1 kg chicken
- 1 onion chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds (khus-khus)
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 medium size onion finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp Β turmeric
- 3 cloves of crushed garlic with skin
- 7 long red chillies (Bedgi) * see note
- 7 short red chillies (Harekala)* see note
- 1-1/2 tbsp coriander seeds (dhania)
- 10 peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)
- pinch of cumin seeds (jeera)
- marble size ball of tamarind or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 3 cloves of garlic with skin
- 1/4 tsp cumin
For the seasoning/tempering/fon/bagar/tadka
- 1 medium size onion finely sliced
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1/2 inch cinnamon
Method:
The Harekala variety of chillies is higher on the spice meter as compared to the Bedgi variety. The Kashmiri chilli is the least spicy among all, but gives a lovely red colour to the curry. Pls use the kind of chillies as available to you. Use spicy chillies moderately if you prefer it less spicy. For this recipe I used a blend of Bedgi & Kashmiri chillies as I like moderately spicy food.
![](https://www.ruchikrandhap.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Kori-Aajadina-3-1.jpg)
absolutely yummy recipe. looks fabulous.
Looks just perfect .. need a bowl of rice now to finish it off..
RecipeRaaga
love ur photography shireen, its so simple,no props around…..its just about the dish.lovely….i want to have chicken sukka ,,,going to make it tmrw:)
charishma
I donno how to thank you for posting this recipe. I was searching it for a long time. When we were in bangalore, this was my fave dish with neer dosa at any mangalorean restaurant there. Now in UK, I badly miss this and thats when I started looking for recipe. Yours look so delicious and yummy…
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Loved the spices that go into the chicken sukka. mmm…will try it soon.Would love to have it with neer dosa on my visit to ur place π
Simply delicious and mouthwatering coconut chicken curry. Wonderful preparation.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
Omg, cant take my eyes from that wonderful and irresistible bowl of delicious chicken chukka,soooo tempting..
Wow.. looks so yumm and creamy π Love your pics too
Looks just like the authentic version…Too yummm… Even for a veggie like me π So that we are not left behond..we do make veg versions of these mlore specialties..Loke paneer ghee roast or mushroom sukka..And for that we too follow ur mom1s recipe..By grinding bafat powder with some coconut & then add to the mushrooms!! Bookmarked this one Shireen..:))
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Btw Shireen..I have a recipe request..Its another popular mlore specialty called karipatta..that is chi or veg in currly leaves flavored masala..Looks similar to sukka or ghee roast & tatses just as good!! Had it at Deepa Comforts once & loved it!!
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Thanks all for your lovely comments..will respond to you individually once im back from my vacation
@Prathima: thanks dear π i will definitely hunt for the karipatta recipe for u…havent heard of it or tasted it..but hopefully on my next trip to Mlore, i must try it!
I have spent 7 yrs in bangalore, though I'm a keralite. Most of my kerala friends like Mangalore cuisine, maybe coz we have lots in common like the love for coconut π
Your descriptions and photos made my mouth water. This is a new dish to me and one I can't wait to try.
Thank you for your comment on my blog. I am so sorry you lost yours so close together. Thanks for understanding what I wrote.
I made this today and it was too good…thanks for the awesome recipe..it was a little time consuming than i expected, but it is worth all the effort…served with neer dosa…yummy combo..Watch my blog, I would post soon.
Here is my version http://ramyasrecipe.blogspot.com/2011/09/chicken-sukka.html
Though it doesnt look as great as yours, it tasted wnderful.I think the type of chillies I used made it brownish. I had ground the mix a little coarse as we like it that way π
Can I substitute the "masala" ingredients for Bafat masala?
Thanks everyone for your lovely comments!! Thanks Ramya for having tried it!
@Anonymous:Yes you can substitute the ground masala with bafat powder (as I have mentioned in the first para of my narration/introduction). You can add 2-3 tsp (or as per taste) for 1 kg of chicken, however, the taste may differ slightly as the above recipe has fenugreek & poppy seeds which are absent in the bafat masala. Good luck! Do let me know how it turns out!
Wow….. its so yummy…….. I made it today and my husband also like it………..
Thanks a ton for the feedback Supriya!! So glad to know that the dish was a success and you liked it too!
going to try this out today.will lt you know how it turns out:)
hi…i stay in dubai n we dont get poppy seeds here. any substitute for poppy seeds???
@ Anonymous: You can completely skip the poppy seeds as only 1/2 tsp is required. Alternatively a few (4-5) cashewnuts can be used – cashewnuts or sesame seeds are the most common replacements for poppy seeds (although I have never tried sesame seeds – cashewnuts work well)
My son called from university and said mom make sukha chicken, so said to myself why not do Shireen's recipe and here I am wuth another receipe of yours in my hat, will let you know after the weekend what were his comments until then….thanks Anita
Thanks so much Anita for choosing to try this recipe. I hope it has turned out well and your son likes it…will wait for your feedback!! π
Hello shireen once again thanks I must share this with you that Same ingredient same masala i prepared for crab and it just wonderful. My husband reaction was it is just tawa fry crab. lovely test lovely recipe. Thanks for all this.
Hi Sheetal! Thanks so much for the lovely feedback! So good to know that you tried this with crab and enjoyed it too π happy cooking!
I think I am the first guy to comment here.. π
I tried this dish at home and it was delicious..
My friends were impressed that I cook so nice. All thanks to your recipe.. V/
I have to thank you for this recipie, my husband loved it so much that he stopped ordering it from hotel, he prefers this at home.thank you.
@ Riya: Thanks so much for your feedback!
I just made a batch of this recipe. For 1 kg boneless, skinless chicken, used 2 tbsp of bafat powder, unsweetened coconut. The whole process took less than an hour. I used a wok and frying pan.
Came out delicious. Thank you!
Want to add a picture, let me see if I can figure it out.
Thanks Shireen! Love your website:j
Hi Nina,
So glad to hear that! Thanks so much for the feedback!! I’d love to see a picture. Please email it to ruchikrandhap@gmail.com Thanks!
Hi Shireen,
Hope all is well with you and the family. I tried this recipe and it turned out really good.. I even got a compliment from Sharon. I do the cooking, now that I’ve retired, so always looking for new dishes to cook.
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
How lovely to receive a comment from you! We are doing well, thank you! How are you all? Thanks for the feedback on this recipe! So glad to know that you liked it!
Iβve been trying some of your recipes and theyβre all absolutely delicious and very meticulous! Thanks a lot for sharing
Thank you so much for the kind words Veena! I am so glad that you liked my recipes!