South Indian Kerala Chicken Curry Recipes

KERALA CHICKEN CURRY - INDIAN HOTEL STYLE

Steps:

• Pre-heat a small skillet over medium-low heat.
• Add the spices to the skillet.
• Toast, shaking the pan, until they start to get fragrant. This should take a two or three minutes.
• Let cool and grind to a fine powder. I like a coffee grinder for this. The old ones with the blade work well. Bad for coffee. Great for spices.
• You won't need anywhere near all of it so transfer it to a jar with a tight fitting lid and store in a cool, dark place. Use it as a funky peppery garam masala if you like.
• Measure out your spice mix. Stem your curry leaves. Prep your chicken. Measure out a cup (237 ml) of Indian hotel curry gravy. Cut up your green chilies. Slice your shallot.
• Have your garlic ginger paste, tamarind and coconut milk handy. You're good to go now.
• Heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil over medium low heat in the same little pan you used to toast the spices.
• Add the shallots and cook until the shallots start to brown.
• Add the mustard seed and about 10 curry leaves and cook until the shallots are nicely brown. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan until the oil just starts to shimmer.
• Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Gently fry until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This can get a little messy.
• Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix and the remaining 5 curry leaves. Cook for about 30 seconds. You want to fry your spices in the oil. Don't skimp on the oil. Bad things happen if the spices stick and burn.
• Add the green chilies. Cook another 30 seconds or so.
• Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the chicken thigh pieces in a single layer. Nestle them down into the sauce. Cover and cook about 5 minutes. Remove the cover, flip the chicken and recover. Cook until the chicken is done. Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 160F. It will get to 170F as the curry finishes cooking.
• Add the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Stir well to combine.
• Look at the consistency. If you are happy with it, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. If it's too thick, add a bit of water and stir to combine. If it's too thin don't cover it to let it reduce.
• While the curry is in it's final simmer, warm up the tempering over low heat.
• Transfer the kerala chicken curry to a serving dish and drizzle/sprinkle it with the tempering.
• Kerala chicken curry is great with rice and chapatis or parathas.

CHICKEN CURRY RECIPE

Steps:

• First heat oil in a deep pan, then add whatever whole spices you have - bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves & green cardamoms. Fry them till you get an aroma, just for a min.
• Add chopped onions and chilies. Saute till the onions turn deep golden in color.
• Next add ginger garlic paste and saute till you get a nice aroma. This just takes about a minute.
• Then add tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes turn soft & mushy.
• Pour yogurt (or cashew paste), red chili powder, garam masala & coriander powder.
• On a low heat, cook until the mixture smells good and the raw smell goes away.
• Add chicken and coriander leaves. Fry till the chicken turns white or pale in color. This takes around 3 mins.
• Cover and cook on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. This step is very important as the chicken absorbs all the flavors of the spices.
• Meanwhile in a separate pot, heat up 1 cup water. Using cold water most times toughens the chicken so it is good to use hot water.
• Pour hot water just enough to make a thick curry. Do not add too much water. Chicken curry will become runny. Sometimes chicken lets out lot of moisture. So use only as needed.
• Cover and cook on a medium to low flame till the chicken is soft cooked and the curry turns thick.
• Taste the curry & add more salt if needed.
• You can also add another ½ tsp garam masala at this stage if you feel it is less in flavors.
• Cover and cook on a low flame for 3 to 5 mins. When the chicken is cooked completely it will fall off the bone easily.
• Lastly garnish with coriander leaves, cover and off the heat. Serve chicken curry with butter naan or jeera rice.

KERALA CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Drop in mustard seeds and cumin seeds, cover skillet, and wait until the mustard seeds have all popped. Add onion, ginger, and curry leaves. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, coriander, red chili powder, turmeric, and cinnamon stick; stir well.
• Add chicken and enough water to barely cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium or medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to make sure there is enough moisture in the skillet to keep the chicken from burning. Add more water if necessary. When the chicken is tender, season with salt and serve.

SOUTH INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until it is very hot. Add mustard seeds and let them sizzle for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, sliced onion, and cilantro stems, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ground spice mix and continue cooking for 6 to 8 minutes until the onions are very soft, stirring often so that the onions cook evenly.
• When the onions and peppers are soft and have absorbed the spices, start adding the chicken, a little at a time. Stir the pieces until they're coated with the spices, and then add more chicken. When all the chicken has been stirred in, pour the thin coconut milk over the chicken, add the salt and the potatoes, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. To soften the flavor of the spices, and to make a creamy sauce, the author simmers the chicken for her curry in coconut milk.
• Remove the cover from the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the sauce is thickened. Then add the thick coconut milk and the cilantro leaves. Return liquid to a simmer, season to taste with salt, and serve with rice.

KERALAN CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• For the Keralan curry, put the turmeric, yoghurt and a pinch of salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for an hour.
• Meanwhile, make the curry paste. Place a frying pan over a low heat and add the oil, followed by the ginger and garlic. Fry for about a minute, then add the remaining paste ingredients and fry for 5-6 minutes, or until lightly coloured. Leave to cool, then transfer to a blender, add 3-5 tablespoons water and blend to a fine paste. Set aside.
• To finish the Keralan chicken curry, place a heavy-based, non-stick pan over a medium heat and add the vegetable oil. When hot, add the chillies and let them sizzle for about 10 seconds. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and fry for 10-12 minutes, or until browned. Stir in the blended tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the spice paste and fry for 4-5 minutes, stirring well, until the sauce thickens slightly. Increase the heat and add the marinated chicken pieces, stirring well to coat them with spice paste. Fry for 4 minutes, or until lightly coloured. Add 100ml/3½fl oz water and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the coconut milk, stir well and simmer for a further 4-7 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• For the raita, in a small bowl, add the mint, coriander, yoghurt, ginger, spring onions and 100ml water to a blender. Blend to a smooth paste, then transfer to a bowl and sprinkle over the crushed cumin seeds, black salt and sea salt. Set aside.
• For the lime and coriander rice, season the cooked rice with salt and pepper. Fork lightly to loosen the grains and set aside.
• Place a large heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. When hot, add the chopped chilli and fry for a few seconds. Add the rice and heat through, stirring well. Add the lime zest and fresh coriander. Mix well and turn off the heat. Stir through the lime juice.
• To serve, garnish the curry with chilli flakes or coriander and serve in bowls with the rice and raita alongside.

SOUTH INDIAN (KERALA) CHICKEN CURRY

Steps:

• Heat oil in a deep pan.
• Mix/Grind coriander, chili, turmeric and pepper together in a bowl - set aside.("A").
• Fry mustard in hot oil and sauté onion, garlic, ginger, chili and curry leaves ("B") till onions are golden.
• Once done - remove onion mixture from oil to another frying pan & add tomatoes and keep over low heat till tomatoes dissolve from their skins.
• Meanwhile in the deep pan, add chicken, vinegar, salt, and spice mixture ("A") - stir for a few minutes . Mix coconut milk & water and add. Cover the pan with lid & cook over med-low heat ("C").
• When the meat is cooked through, add the potatoes. Once the potatoes are half-cooked (about 15 minutes), stir in the tomato-onion mixture from "B" and add the tomato paste.
• Leave uncovered & stir once in awhile. When the potatoes are cooked through & the curry thickens, remove from heat & garnish with chopped coriander & enjoy with jasmine or basmati rice!