Nadan Kozhi Curry - Kerala Chicken Curry Recipe

The Naaden Kozhi Curry involves cooking the chicken in its own juices along with slightly bruised spices and fresh ginger and garlic. Once the chicken is juicy and infused with the aromatic spices, plenty of sautéed onions are added, along with fried slices of coconut, which is perhaps the most sought after part of the dish. The entire dish is cooked till the sauce reaches a bare minimum, and every bite of chicken is packed with the flavours of all the spices that Kerala is home to. For the authentic Kerala taste, coconut oil is a must.

Recipe

A.
1 kg chicken, on the bone, cut into medium sized pieces (approximately 30 pieces) and cleaned
1 tablespoon piece ginger, finely chopped + 8-10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cardamom + 5 cloves + 1" piece cinnamon + 1 star anise + 2 pinches of mace (jathi pathiri) + 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, slightly bruised using mortar and pestle
1 table red chili powder + 1 tablespoon coriander powder + 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
To taste, salt

B.
2 large onions cut into thin long slices
1.5 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons ginger julienned + 2 tablespoons garlic julienned
1 sprig curry leaves
4 tablespoon oil, preferably coconut oil
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced pieces of coconut (1.5" long slices)
1 teaspoon red chili powder + 1 teaspoon coriander powder
3/4 tablespoon pepper powder + 1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients labeled A, and let it marinate for 15 - 20 minutes.

In a large pot, cook the marinated chicken over a low heat till it is completely cooked. While cooking, add a quarter cup of hot water, if you find the chicken sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the chicken is cooked, boil off excess juices.

In a large pan, heat the oil. Crackle the mustard seeds. Add ginger and garlic, and then toss in the sliced onions. Sauté the onions till they brown lightly. Add the chili powder, coriander powder and salt, and sauté over a low flame. Then add the coconut slices and curry leaves and continue sautéing till the onions have turned golden brown. Add the chicken pieces and continue sautéing till the onions have coated all the chicken pieces well. Sprinkle over the pepper powder and garam masala and mix well. 
 

This curry is quite fiery, as is the curry served in most homes in Kerala. For a milder version, reduce the quantity of spice and chili powder - drastically. Serve hot with rice.

Read more »

Nadan Kozhi Curry - Chicken Curry Recipe

This is the traditional chicken masala curry made on a regular basis in my mom’s house. She makes it when there are impromptu guests for breakfast with pathiris, or for dinner with neichoru or madikki pathiri.
For a long time, I had been adding variations to this recipe, but gradually gravitated away it, finally forgetting the original recipe. So it was a pleasure to get it back from my mom and start over again.
This chicken curry uses most of the whole spices locally available in Kerala, which in turn gives it its unique flavour, associated widely with Malabar curries. You could omit adding more water in the end to make it a Chicken Masala (Kozhi Varatiyathu).

Cooking time: 25 mins Preparation time is another 10 mins
You will need: 
Chicken-2 lb, (750gm) cleaned and cut into small pieces.
Onions- 2.5 cups chopped (3 medium sized one)
Tomatoes-2 cup tomatoes (2 medium sized ones)
Green chilies - 6 chopped 
Ginger–Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 3/4 tsp
Red chili powder- 2 tsp (more or less as per taste..this will be spicy)
Coriander powder-3 tsp
Whole spices: 2”long Cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 3 cardamom
Pepper- ¼ tsp (whole or crushed)
Leaves: Coriander, Mint, each a small handful, chopped
Salt - to taste
Oil-4 tbsp
Curry leaves – one sprig

Preparation Method
1. Wash the chicken and lightly toss it with lemon juice and rinse again. Drain well onto a slotted drainer.
2. Heat the oil in a large shallow pan, add the whole spices. Sauté till the fragrance fills the air and then add onions. 
3. Fry onions till transparent and add chilies, ginger and garlic and stir well. Then add the tomatoes, all the spices and chicken and cook uncovered on low heat till water comes out. Do not add any water: it will prevent the spice powders from getting cooked. This will take between 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring to avoid the spices from getting stuck to the pan.
4. Add salt and the pepper. Check to see if the chicken is cooked. If there is no water, add ½ cup water and now cook it covered for five minutes to let the chicken cook well. Add ¾ water to make extra gravy and let it boil well. Add the leaves, leaving the coriander leaves for the last, after switching off the flame.

Read more »

Malabar Chicken Curry Recipe - Nadan Kozhi Curry

This is the traditional chicken masala curry made on a regular basis in my mom’s house. She makes it when there are impromptu guests for breakfast with pathiris, or for dinner with neichoru or madikki pathiri.
For a long time, I had been adding variations to this recipe, but gradually gravitated away it, finally forgetting the original recipe. So it was a pleasure to get it back from my mom and start over again.
This chicken curry uses most of the whole spices locally available in Kerala, which in turn gives it its unique flavour, associated widely with Malabar curries. You could omit adding more water in the end to make it a Chicken Masala (Kozhi Varatiyathu).

Cooking time: 25 mins Preparation time is another 10 mins
You will need:
Chicken-2 lb, (750gm) cleaned and cut into small pieces.
Onions- 2.5 cups chopped (3 medium sized one)
Tomatoes-2 cup tomatoes (2 medium sized ones)
Green chilies - 6 chopped
Ginger–Garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 3/4 tsp
Red chili powder- 2 tsp (more or less as per taste..this will be spicy)
Coriander powder-3 tsp
Whole spices: 2”long Cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 3 cardamom
Pepper- ¼ tsp (whole or crushed)
Leaves: Coriander, Mint, each a small handful, chopped
Salt - to taste
Oil-4 tbsp
Curry leaves – one sprig

Preparation Method
1. Wash the chicken and lightly toss it with lemon juice and rinse again. Drain well onto a slotted drainer.
2. Heat the oil in a large shallow pan, add the whole spices. Sauté till the fragrance fills the air and then add onions.
3. Fry onions till transparent and add chilies, ginger and garlic and stir well. Then add the tomatoes, all the spices and chicken and cook uncovered on low heat till water comes out. Do not add any water: it will prevent the spice powders from getting cooked. This will take between 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring to avoid the spices from getting stuck to the pan.
4. Add salt and the pepper. Check to see if the chicken is cooked. If there is no water, add ½ cup water and now cook it covered for five minutes to let the chicken cook well. Add ¾ water to make extra gravy and let it boil well. Add the leaves, leaving the coriander leaves for the last, after switching off the flame.

Read more »