Malvani Chicken Curry

Malvani Chicken Curry

“This recipe originates from the Konkan region of India. It is a coastal area and Malvani cuisine uses coconut in various ways like grated, dry grated coconut, coconut milk and coconut paste. This is a spicy and hot curry, and I’m sure will blow your socks off! So if you can handle spicy food, do give it a try”.

Ingredients

1 kg chicken cut into pieces

3 medium sized red onions sliced

1 tsp red chili powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

¼ cup oil

salt to taste

a handful of chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

To be roasted and ground to a powder:

6-7 dry red chilies (you can de-seed some if you want it less spicy)

10 black peppercorns

6-7 cloves

1 bay leaf

2” cinnamon stick

½ tsp grates nutmeg

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

To be ground to a fine paste:

1 ½ cups grated fresh coconut

5-6 cloves of garlic

2 green chilies (I used only one)

2” piece of ginger

Directions

In a skillet roast the whole spices for a few minutes and grind them in a spice grinder to a fine powder. Keep aside. In a blender, add the grated coconut, ginger, garlic, green chili and grind to a fine paste using a little water. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add the sliced onion. Sauté the onions till they turn dark golden brown. Add the ground spice mix, turmeric, red chili powder and sauté for 2-3 seconds. Add the coconut paste and sauté on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and mix. Add a glass of water, salt and stir. Cover and cook on low heat. Check occasionally if water is needed and give it a stir. Cook until chicken is well done and the gravy has thickened a bit. Turn of the heat and transfer into a serving dish. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with hot white rice.