Chicken Curry ~ Perfect for both bread and rice

I still haven't forgotten how wonderful that Appam and Chicken curry tasted that I had from Kairali restaurant at Bangalore. It was on my first visit to that restaurant. I have been to the same place several times and have had different dishes from their menu, but Appam and chicken curry is the first thing that comes to my mind when I speak of Kairali.

I am so glad that I came across this recipe. Now I can make and have it whenever I feel like, rather than just drool over the thoughts of the chicken curry that I had years ago. So here is how you should go about making it if you feel like having a chicken curry with a thick and rich gravy with Appam, Puttu, Bread, Rice, Chapathi or Kerala Parotta.

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 lbs of chicken - cleaned and cut into pieces 
2. 2 cups of finely sliced onion 
3. 1 tbsp of grated ginger
4. 1 tbsp of grated garlic
5. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
6. 1 tbsp of chilly powder
7. 1 tbsp of coriander powder
8. 1/2 tsp of garam masala
9. 3/4 tsp of fennel seeds
10. 1/2 tsp of pepper powder
11. 1 large tomato - chopped
12. 1 1/2 cup of coconut milk - including the thin and thick coconut milk if you have made it fresh.
13. Salt as per taste
14. Oil (preferably coconut oil) 
15. 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
16. Curry leaves
17. 3-4 pearl-onions/shallots finely sliced

Method

• In a pan, take 2 tbsp of oil. Once hot, drop in the sliced onions, ginger, garlic and salt. Saute it.
• Once the raw smell disappears, add in the masalas (ingredients 5-10). Mix it and wait till the oil starts to appear.
• Drop in the chopped tomatoes and mix it. Cook it till the tomatoes get soft and tender. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Grind it into a paste adding just enough water.
• Add a tbsp of oil to the pan, drop in the chicken pieces and cook on medium heat for about 5-10 mins. Add in the ground paste and give a thorough mix so that all the pieces get coated with the gravy. Add in the thin coconut milk and cook it. I used canned coconut milk so I added it at the end.
• Once the chicken pieces are half way cooked, add in the thick coconut milk and give it a mix. 
• Cook till the chicken pieces are done and remove it from the heat.
• In another deep pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Once hot, drop in the mustard seeds. Once they pop, add in the finely sliced pearl onions and curry leaves. Saute it till the onions turn golden brown. Pour it on top of chicken curry and serve it hot. This goes well with Appam, Idiyappam, Puttu, Bread, Rice, Chapathi or Kerala Parotta.

Tips

1. Because of the coconut milk that goes into it, the gravy thickens once it cools down. So you may need to adjust the consistency of the gravy the way you want.
2. You could use some kashmiri chilly powder to get more red colour to the chicken curry but do not substitue it for the red chilly powder. 

Recipe courtesy : Marias Menu