Chettinad Pepper Chicken Curry - Milagu Kozhi Kozhambu

So I had this sinus bothering me for the last few weeks travelling between winter and tropical weather back and forth almost every week. Decided to get it treated with some pepper chicken. It was a good treatment even while I was cooking. Just the aroma made the difference. Talking about pepper chicken curry, still the best in my opinion is from Parasakthi in Salem. Hopefully someday I will be able cook up something close to that. This was yet another attempt. The best parts of cooking a curry is roasting the masala. As I have mentioned in an earlier post each spice needs to be dry roasted separately to get the best effect. Of course it takes a little bit of time and patience - but worth every bit of it.

What goes in:

Dry Masala (starting from top left in the pic )

1. Star aniseed
2. Coriander seeds
3. Cloves
4. Fennel
5. Black Pepper
6. Poppy seeds (Khus Khus)
7. Cinnamon sticks
8. Cumin

"Wet Masala"

1. Onions
2. Garlic
3. Ginger
4. Tomato

Other Stuff

1. Chicken
2. Grated coconut
3. Gingelly oil
4. Turmeric
5. Salt
6. Black Pepper Powder
7. Mustard seeds

The Method

1) Blend the ingredients of the wet masala.
2) Roast the dry masala ingredients one by one and let it cool down.

3) Heat a sauce pan and once hot add few table spoons of gingelly oil.

4) Add mustard seeds once the oil is hot.

5) Add the blended wet masala paste, a teaspoon of salt and saute for a few minutes until the oil separates.
6) While the paste is being sauteed powder the dry masala.
7) Once the paste is sauteed enough add the chicken pieces, pinch of turmeric and saute until the chicken is mixed well with the paste.
8) Add the powdered masala, grated coconut, curry leaves and let it to cook for about 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked enough. Add required amount of water for the level of consistency needed.
9) Add some black pepper powder if you are not able to get the distinct peppery taste.
10) Garnish with coriander leaves.

Muzhagu Kozhi Kozhambu Ready!! Goes well with steamed rice or parotta.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Gai Pad Krapow - Chilli Basil Chicken

Basil - a leaf limited to religious and maybe medicinal purposes in Indian lifestyle add so much flavour to a dish especially Thai and Italian. One of my favourite Thai dishes - stir fried Chilli Basil Chicken came to fruition today at Chetty's kitchen. All necessary ingredients fell into place today and there was no reason not to try. There's something about the Thai birds eye red chilli. It simply couldn't be replaced by any other type of chilli and the flavour just doesn't happen. No wonder these 2 ingredients Basil & Chilli make a dish by itself.

What goes in: 

1) Thinly sliced Chicken breast meat
2) Thai Red Chillies
3) Holy Basil Leaves
4) Onions
5) Garlic
6) Fish Sauce
7) Dark Soy Sauce
8) Sugar
9) Corn flour water (optional)

The Method

1) Heat a wok with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil - any oil for that matter.

2) When hot toss in the chicken and toss it around until the pinkness goes away.

3) Mix in the garlic, chillies, few tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 table spoon of soya sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar and fry for about a minute.

4) Toss in the onions and toss for a few minutes until the onions become slightly translucent.

5) Add in the basil leaves and toss for a minute.

6) If you need a extra sauce (or volume), add more water and corn flour water. You may need to add more fish sauce / salt as necessary.

Serve it hot with jasmine rice. 

Voila - Gai Pad Krapow Ready!!

Enjoy Cooking!!

C