Chettinad Chicken Masala Recipe (Dry) - Easy Indian Chicken Recipes

I have always been partial towards the extra spicy and curry-leaf-rich Chettinad cuisine ever since I can remember and Anjappar is one of my favourite restaurants in SIngapore to get spicy Chettinad food. Their Chicken Masala is particularly good - bite-sized pieces of chicken cooked in a rich spicy gravy and reduced to a consistency where the gravy is just about coating the chicken pieces. It goes great with rice and roti alike and is absolutely delicious. While I love the Kerala-style Roasted Chicken Recipe too, this one is easier and almost as good.

Chettinad Chicken Masala and Poricha Kuzhambu

Many months back, I tried to replicate that taste at home and came close with one attempt. So here's me sharing the recipe all you chicken lovers. Check out more Indian Chicken Recipes here.

CHETTINAD CHICKEN MASALA RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken thighs (with bone)
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 ripe tomato, cubed
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1/2 tsp of roasted jeera, powdered
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 1 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp of black pepper + fennel seeds powdered together
• 1 tsp of chicken masala (or add more coriander powder)
• 1 tsp of garam masala powder
• 1 tsp of grated ginger
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 fistful of fresh curry leaves

How to Make Chettinad Chicken Masala:

1. Heat oil and add the onions and curry leaves. Saute until the onions turn golden brown.

2. Next, add all the spices - turmeric + cumin + coriander + chicken masala + pepper + fennel + chilli powder and saute for 30 seconds until frangrant.

3. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 5 seconds before adding the cubed tomato. Cook until the tomatoes turn mushy and juicy.

4. Meanwhile, wash the chicken pieces and make some slits on the meaty portion. Add this to the cooking masala and toss to coat well.

5. Add 1 cup water and some salt and cook covered for 15-20 mins until the chicken is cooked and soft. Open the lid and cook further until the gravy turns thick and the masala coats the chicken. If you want more gravy, you can add more water but I like it on the thicker side.

6. When the chicken pieces are ready, sprinkle garam masala on top, mix, and remove from fire.

Serve hot with rice - it's delicious!

Notes:

1. The curry leaves are an important ingredient. You can add coriander leaves but that would change the flavour so I don't add them usually to Chicken Chettinad
2. You can also use cubed boneless chicken, just adjust cooking time accordingly
3. The tomatoes are optional, I just like the sourness it lends to the masala
4. You can temper the hot oil with mustard seeds. I sometimes add them and sometimes not
5. Update: the chicken masala I have had at Anjappar titled Chicken Chettinad didn't have coconut. There's a version with coconut but it's called something else (Anjappar special something). I haven't tried that version so bear with me. You can definitely add some roasted and ground coconut to this masala if you wish, and avoid the tomatoes. 
6. You can also substitute the garam masala with freshly ground spices - a mix of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and bay leaf, dry roasted until fragrant

Mixed Vegetable Curry, Chettinad Vegetable Curry Recipe

Recipe for simple mixed vegetable curry - Amma makes different kinds of Mixed Vegetable Curries. Some of them use coconut or coconut milk and will be a South Indian Kurma style (recipe coming soon), some vegetables curries will be without coconut and just use very simple masala or spices that is usually served along with roti or chapati.

A couple of years back, she discovered Kalpasi. I searched online but didn't find more info on this spice called Kalpasi that's used extensively in Chettinad recipes and cooking.

Kalpasi - A popular Chettinad Spice used in most Chettinad Recipes

It has a bark-like appearance but is spongy and doesn't have much flavour on its own if you smell it. But add it to a mixed vegetable curry and you have a terrific restaurant-style (Chettinad-style too!) mixed vegetable curry that needs no other spices or masala. Amma buys this from Trichy or Nagercoil when she visits family so it's definitely available in Tamil Nadu.

More info on Kalpasi or Dagad Phool: A bunch of you awesome people recognised Kalpasi and left notes in the comments section. I am moving some snippets here so others can benefit. Arundati says "Its called Dagad Phool in urdu. Extensively used in hyderabadi food and its a kind of lichen. Called Stone flower in english.... has a lovely woody fragrance and smoky aroma". Prathibha says "dagad phool is used in many Maharashtrian and Konkani recipes too".

If Kalpasi is not available where you live, you can, of course, add garam masala as a substitute. If you like Chettinad Recipes, you may also like this Chettinad-style Mushroom Masala Recipe.

Also check out: mixed vegetable kurma recipe, paneer korma, soya chunks kurma.

Mixed Vegetable Curry - Vegetable Curry Recipe - Chettinad-Style

Preparation time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 people as a side dish for roti / chapati
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients for Mixed Vegetable Curry:
2 onions, sliced
4 cups of mixed vegetables (carrot, potato, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, capsicum, etc)
2 green chillies, slit lenghtwise
1/4 cup of cow peas or black-eyed peas, soaked overnight (optional)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp of red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
A generous pinch of kalpasi (dagad phool)
1 strand of curry leaves
A small bunch of coriander leaves
2 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of sugar (optional)

How to make Mixed Vegetable Curry (Chettinad-Style):

1. Cut all the vegetables you are using into bite-sized pieces. You can use whatever you have in hand but capsicum (bell pepper), potato, and carrots are recommended.

2. Add the vegetables, soaked cow peas (if using), salt and green chillies to a pressure cooker pan along with 1/2 cup water and pressure cook for one whistle.

3. Meanwhile, heat oil and add the sliced onions (the oil quantity in the picture looks like a lot because amma was cooking for 12 people that day. I am giving the scaled measurement here). Fry the onions until golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and kalpasi (or garam masala).

4. Fry this mixture for 2 mins and add the chopped tomatoes. Saute until the tomates are cooked and mushy. Then add the red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Fry for another minute.

5. Cool this mixture, transfer to a small mixer and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

6. I hope you kept an eye on the pressure cooker with our vegetables! One whistle is usually enough to cook the vegetables but they still maintain their shape. Transfer the vegetables into the same pan used before and add the ground paste. Add water if required. Bring to boil. Adjust salt, add sugar and the curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and remove from fire.

Serve hot with hot phulkas / rotis / chapati for a delicious and balanced dinner.

I love mixed vegetable curries of any sort simply because the flavours from any one vegetable doesn't dominate. Amma makes this Chettinad-style mixed vegetable curry very often since it's easy to make in large batches and tastes delicious with minimum spices and masala.