Sunday, March 18, 2007

Chicken Chettinad

I am pretty pleased with myself, 2 things India made a oh well a forgettable start to the World Cup Cricket Campaign. The giants of the subcontinent, India loses to Bangladesh(Sourav I hear you were the only one standing amid the ruins) and Pakistan loses to Ireland (did not even know they played Cricket) and finds itself out of the World Cup. No no no this is not the reason and I am pleased with myself, I resisted the urge to spend about $200 to get the Cricket Telecast on DirectTV. Spending a whole day watching a match is going to be impossible and India losing is going to make me depressed, as if the weather is not enough, so I pat myself on the back for a decision well made. The spoilt brats of Indian Cricket can do what they please.

The second reason I am pleased with myself is for trying out the Chettinad Chicken Recipe. I always make the Chettinad Fish Curry but have never tried this one. KrishnaArjuna had requested a recipe for Chicken Chettinad and it was time for me to hunt a recipe down and try it out. Thanks KA I am glad I did, this is going to be a regular from now on. I am from Kongu Nadu and not from Chettinad so this not an authentic recipe. I know the dishes from the Chettinad area are very spicy and hot, I have tweaked to keep the heat down and kid friendly.If anyone reading this is from the Chettinad region and have an authentic recipe, please free to post it in the comment section.



Recipe Source:Indian Express Cooking

Ingredients
1. 1 1/2 lbs Chicken Thighs (with bones) and cut into pieces
2. 1 Large Red Onion chopped
3. 2 Juicy red tomatoes chopped
4. 1 tbsp Tomato paste
5. 2 tbsp lemon juice
6. 2 tbsp Chilli powder (or to taste)
7. 1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
8. Curry leave 3-4 Sprigs
9. Seasonings - cumin, Star Anise
10. 2 tsp of oil
11. 1/4 cup chopped corriander leaves


Marinate the Chicken
Wash the chicken thoroughly with Turmeric powder, drain and marinate with 1 tbsp of chilli powder, salt and 1 tbsp of lemon juice for about an hour or so.


For the Paste
1. 2 tsp cumin
2. 1 tbsp corriander seeds
3. 1 tsp fennel seeds
4. 1 tsp of pepper
5. 3 cloves
6. 1 inch piece of cinnamon
7. 2 Red Chillies
8. 6-8 Garlic Cloves
9. 2 inch piece of ginger
10. 2 tbsp grated fresh coconut

In a pan heat a 1/4 tsp of oil and fry 1-7 and when they start to turn color add garlic and ginger and fry for a few minutes, add the coconut mix and remove from heat cool and blend to a smooth paste.


Method
1. In a Pressure Pan/Cooker heat oil, add the cumin seeds and Star Anise and the curry leaves and saute.
2. Add the onions and saute till brown.
3. Add the chicken pieces and saute till they start to turn white
4. Now add the ground paste and mix well and let it cook for a minute or two.
5. Add the chopped Tomatoes and cook for another minute or 2.
6. Add the chilli powder, enough salt, lemon juice and enough water(1 Cup)
7. Add the tomato paste and sprinkle the corriander leaves
8a) Close the lid if using pressure cooker and cook for about 5 minutes (don't wait for the whistle) switch it off.
8b) If not using pressure cooker cover the lid and cook for 10 -12 minutes or desired consistency. (step 9 not needed)
9. When cool mix the chicken and cook for a minute or 2.

Serve with Chappathis or Rice.

Tasted great with both rice and Chappathis. It was hot but the kids (daughter's friend who is wary of spicy food) with their watering noses and all enjoyed the dish.

8 comments:

  1. Hi ISG, looks delicious with one of your trademark flavorful spice pastes... gonna have to try this one on my 'spice-wary' kids. And now you should go out and get yourself a real treat with some of that $200 you *would* have spent on DirectTV! ;)

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  2. Lovely recipe Indo , shall try out one of these days

    Only yesterday D took a subscription for TV on comp and see what happened :(

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  3. I am glad I didn't choose the Dish Network Cricket for $200 too,almost did!:D Bummer for India,too much money for paid for them to play well and they go and lose it for Bangla desh!!WOW!!!
    Well..your Chicken Chettinad is a winner,you need to get paid!:))

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  4. Looks tempting Indo.. Love to have this rice/paratha.
    Dont worry Indo, They will surely make it up for super eight .. just now I was watching them play with Bermuda and they are playing well.. Always they mess up like this in the beginning and then they come out well.

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  5. chicken chettinad is a recipe that i started collecting 10 yrs back and now i have so many versions of it! recently a tamil restaurant started around here and i made a bee line to it as they advertised chicken chettinad. so i am confused now what a real recipe of that should taste like.

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  6. Thankyou verymuch for posting this recipe ISG, it was really nice of you! I found a recipe online and tried it a while ago(per hubby's request) but none of us were happy with the outcome. One of friends told me about a cooking site arasuvai(whose content is in tamil) and how authentic the recipes were, I even tried to find a translator(tamil to english) but was unsuccessful.
    I am going to give your version a try, thanks again!

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  7. Was just going thru your blog...wow, you have a good collection here. I love chettinad dishes. Will try this for sure. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Very interesting! I like putting cinnamon in the recipe

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