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Chicken Chettinad
Also known as chettinad chicken · kozhi chettinad · chicken chettinaad · chettinadu chicken
Chicken in a black-pepper-forward masala with curry leaves, star anise and fennel, darker and hotter than most southern curries.
Typical serving
520 kcal
usually 410–660 kcal
 Protein | 36 g |
|---|---|
 Carbs | 31 g |
 Fat | 28 g |
Reference figures for a dish as it is commonly cooked — never a measurement of your plate. The range is the honest part: two kitchens make this differently. In the app, a photograph replaces the guess.
Before you start
- a spice grinder or a pestle — the masala is ground fresh, and that is the dish
Ingredients
Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard
- 400gchicken thighs, boneless
- 40gbasmati rice
- 25gfresh grated coconut
- 2 tspblack peppercorns
- 2 tspfennel, star anise and cumin
- 2 tspghee or oil
- 1onion
- 1tomato
- 20curry leaves
- 1 thumbginger and garlic
Method
7 steps
grill · 6mPeppercorns, fennel, star anise, cumin and the coconut toasted dry in a hot pan until the coconut is the colour of tea and the kitchen smells of aniseed.
blend · 5mGround to a paste with a splash of water. Coarse is right — the pepper should still be felt in pieces rather than as a background warmth.
fry · 10mCurry leaves into hot ghee until they spit, then the onion and the ginger-garlic cooked until the onion loses its edges.
- fry · 10m
Chicken in and browned a little, then the tomato and the ground masala worked in until the oil rises to the surface.
simmer · 20m walk awayHalf a cup of water, lid on, low, until the chicken is cooked right through — no pink at the thickest part, and a piece pressed with a spoon runs clear.
boil · 12m walk awayRice on alongside, rinsed, lid, lowest heat.
finish · 5mSalt, more curry leaves torn in, and five minutes off the heat before it goes out — the pepper settles from a spike into a warmth in that time.
Worth knowing
The Chettiar merchant houses built the spice trade and cooked like it — the cuisine uses pepper the way the north uses chilli.
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