This is a kerala-style chicken curry and so it's made in coconut oil that gives it an amazing flavor, taking me back to my grandmother's kitchen:) If you are making the vegetarian alternative to this, you can add vegetables like potatoes, cauliflowers and eggplant instead of chicken.
First of all, you will have to marinate the chicken. For about half-pound chicken (quarter kg) that is cut into about 25 pieces, you will use the following to make the marinade:
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- a pinch turmeric
- about 3 teaspoons salt
The marinade is NOT necessary if you are making the veg version. Use about 2 medium-sized potatoes instead, cut in cubes.
For the curry, you will need:
- 1/8 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
whole spices:
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 cardamoms (they give it this beautiful taste)
- 3 cloves
- jeera
vegetables:
- 1 medium-sized onion thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped the way you want
- 3 (or more/less) green chilies, slit
masala:
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- pinch turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- salt to taste
DIRECTIONS:
Marinate the chicken using the masala for the marinade (NOT required if making the vegetarian version):
Cook till the raw smell goes away!! Then ...
cook till tomatoes turn mushy and the powdery-ness (if there's a word like that) of the masala powder goes away. At mid-stage, it will look like this:
close and cook:
... till it looks like this:
After that, Add the chicken (or) the cut potatoes and/or cauliflower pieces:
mix VERY very well, and cook for about 15-20 minutes till the meat/vegetables turn soft and tender:
Add some water to make it gravy/curry-like. and its ready:
