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This Chicken Curry Recipe main dish is one of my favorites. It uses the ingredients common in South India and is similar to the chicken curry recipe known as Chicken Chettinad (or Kozhi Vartha Kozhambu).
Chicken
Curry with Coconut
Ingredients:
1 chicken cut up
3 tablespoons Ghee or oil
3 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon fennel
1 2-inch piece of cinnamon stick (I prefer cinnamon bark)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 medium onions, diced
1 teaspoon garlic minced (or paste)
1 teaspoon ginger, minced (or paste)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon curry powder, or to taste
1/2 cup coconut milk (see note)
1 tablespoon garam masala
4 small tomato, diced
1 1-inch square piece of tamarind (see note)
Heat the oil in a frying or sauté pan and add cardamom pods,
cinnamon, fennel and cumin seeds. Fry the spices for 1-2 minutes and
add the diced onions and cook until wilted. Reduce the heat and add the
garlic and ginger and sauté for another 2-3 minutes (if your
pan
is too hot you will risk burning the garlic). Add the turmeric, curry
powder, chicken, tomato, garam masala and coconut milk and bring to a
boil. Reduce the heat and mix thoroughly and cover. Let it simmer until
the chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens. Serve hot with
rice.
A Note on Ingredients:
Tamarind
is one of the unique ingredients found in
South India. It gives a sour taste to the chicken curry recipe and it
can be found in different forms. The most common way to find it is in
packages where the tamarind seeds are compacted together. To use it in
a recipe, take a piece off and soak it in water. The size of the piece
will be indicated in the recipe. After it has soaked for 2 hours
squeeze it between your fingers to extract the juice and discard the
pith and seeds. Tamarind can be found in specialty stores in your area
or at amazon
gourmet foods.
Coconut Milk can be extracted
in much the same
way as tamarind using warm water. You can also use shredded or
desiccated coconut for this chicken curry recipe. Boil the shredded
coconut in milk and let it sit for an hour or two. Strain the milk and
coconut through a strainer and discard the pith. If you choose to use
milk, be careful that your recipe does not have an ingredient, which
will curdle it! The easiest choice is to use the store bought cans of
coconut milk.
If
you like cooking Indian recipes, more can be found at your local
bookstore or buy
chicken curry recipes online.
Here is another Chicken Curry recipe
Murgh
Makhani or Butter Chicken Curry