Spicy Kerala Chicken Fry

Friday, January 26th, 2007

Filed Under Chicken, Good with Drinks, India - Kerala, Recipes 


I have been reading a whole lot of food blogs this evening… Wow, there are some great pictures and great recipes out there, and there is the big network of food bloggers I had no idea existed… Just reading these bogs are great motivation to cook… I haven’t cooked since Sunday night, but I did remember to take pictures of the chicken dish I made for the Potluck on Sunday.

I never really follow a recipe to the word, I don’t usually use measuring cups or spoons unless I am baking. I just “eye ball” the ingredients in Rachael Ray’s words… So the same recipe comes out different on different occasions.. I have collected a lot of cookbooks over the years, and I have adapted some of the recipes and have made it my own. This particular recipe is from the book “Recipes for All Occasions” Part 3 by Mrs.B.F.Varghese a renowned cookbook author from Kerala.

Here is a picture of my cookbook collection.

The original recipe is for a gravy, but after a lot of experimentation, I ditched the coconut milk she suggested, and added extra ground coconut and dried out the gravy and finally settled on a recipe I liked.

Spicy Chicken Fry Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Cook chicken in little water and salt and keep aside. Don’t overcook, since the chicken pieces will be cooked in the masala later.

Heat a pan and dry roast the red chillies , then the coriander seeds and finally the grated coconut. Transfer to a spice grinder. Add a little oil and fry half the onion slices till brown. Grind all these together along with the cashew nuts and the spices to make a smooth paste.

Heat oil and fry the remaining onions. Add the ground mixture and fry for a while. Then add the cooked chicken pieces and curry leaves and stir for a while. Add tamarind paste and the water in which the chicken pieces for cooked, and cook till all the gravy is absorbed and the oil starts seperating. Garnish with some fried potatoe pieces or coriander leaves or both.


Comments

6 Responses to “Spicy Kerala Chicken Fry”

  1. Kori Sukka (Mangalorean Dry Coconut Chicken) Sandwich : Live To Eat on September 28th, 2007 7:56 pm

    […] - Chicken with coconut and tamarind - what can go wrong there right? I have already blogged about a Kerala Chicken dish with similar ingredients, and that is one of my favorite chicken preparations, so I knew this will […]

  2. Raji on November 1st, 2007 1:25 am

    Sounds delicious - esp adding the chicken stock to the gravy should make it really flavorful.
    If this were to be made as a gravy with coconut milk added, would the grated coconut have to reduce by a lot?
    Also, how long do you cook the chicken in water approx?

    Thanks

    Raji

  3. sig on November 1st, 2007 8:11 am

    Hi Raji, reduce the shredded coconut to about 1/2 a cup and add 1 cup coconut milk for the gravy.

    About cooking time for chicken, cook till all parts of the chicken pieces turn white. About 5 minutes after the water comes to a boil should do the trick.

  4. Tina on February 14th, 2008 7:53 am

    Hi Sig,

    Your site is my favorite one among all food-bloggers! Just love you writing style and your wonderful cocktails, ofcourse! :)

    I want to try this recipe with boneless chicken. Can you let me know what quantity of chicken I should use for this recipe. Thanks

    Hi Tina, thanks for your kind words! This is a very forgiving recipe, the quantity of ingredients can be easily changed around. 16 drumsticks are about 3l-4 lbs… So you can use the same weight of boneless chicken. Also, I made this for a party, hence the large quanity. You can use 2lbs of chicken and half all the ingredients. Good luck, let me know how it turns out.

  5. Tina on February 29th, 2008 11:24 am

    Sig,

    A big hug!!!! Thankyou so much for such a wonderful recipe… Just made this and I’m not sure if there’s gonna b some for my husband by the time he gets home!!! I used a lb of boneless chicken and one-third of the rest of the ingredients. I added some pepper powder too.(I use black pepper in anything that is tagged ‘Kerala’!!!) Just delicious, Sig! Thanks again!

    Glad you liked it Tina… I will try adding the black pepper next time… One can never have too much pepper right? :)

  6. sajeev on May 21st, 2008 5:02 am

    My copy of B F Varghese’s recipe book is in tatters after years of regular use.
    Any idea where I can purchase a new copy?
    Much obliged
    Sajeev

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