Sunday, March 10, 2013

Chicken Chettinad

Chettinad cuisine originates from a region in the state of Tamil Nadu in the south of India. These people are known to ge great tradesmen and with their trade, their food travelled. Today, it is considered to be one of the spiciest and earthiest of cuisines. They use a variety of spices and specialise in non-vegetarian cooking.

I got this recipe from a TV travel show, where the host actually went to one of the tiny restaurants in the Chettinad region and got the recipe from the chef himself. I guess this is as authentic as it gets until someday I meet a chef from that region and check if indeed this is authentic :)



For this you will need -

250 gms - Chicken (It should be with bone, but here I've used bonelss as that's what I had that day!)
1/2 inch - Ginger
5 pods - Garlic
3-4 nos - Red Chillies
1 tspn - Fennel Seeds
1 tspn - Cumin Seeds
2 tspn - Black Pepper Seeds  (Add depending on how spicy you want it to be)
2-3 - Cloves (Add depending on how spicy you want it to be)
1 inch - Cinnamon Stick
1 tspn - Cumin Seeds (Into the oil)
2 nos - Onions (Chopped fine)
5-6 nos - Curry Leaves
1 no - Tomato (Chopped fine)
1 tspn - Turmeric Powder
2 tbspn - Oil
Salt as per your taste


Method -

Wash the chicken thoroughly and keep aside.

Grind all the ingredients from ginger to cinnamon to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds and then the curry leaves. Now add the chopped onions and allow to turn golden brown. Then add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes. Then add the chopped tomato and the turmeric powder. Fry till the tomato softens and then add the salt. Now add the chicken pieces one by one and allow the masala to coat each of them. Fry for 4-5 minutes and then add hot water till you get a gravy like consistency. Close and cook till chicken is tender. Garnish with coriander and serve.


The leftover, if at all, can be used as a delicious pizza topping! That's what I did!



 

No comments:

Post a Comment