A south Kerala style chicken curry, with a delicious thick sauce with tamarind and fried chicken…
Last year, when we went on vacation and I got my TMJ tested, the doctor told me that I will have to keep coming every three months to get it checked. At that time, like any other nasty mind would do, I was worried about the costs that would be involved in the travel. I traveled end September over a weekend and then around the third week of December for four days. I must say that I totally enjoyed the change in scene, the time alone, nothing to take care of and all the love. I was set to travel in March when even though flights were on, Covid restrictions were on and then everything came to a standstill. After that I have been consulting a doctor here as per the India doctor directive, and I better not talk about the costs, hehe… Now, even with flights up, the need to quarantine for a minimum of seven days is a big deterrent. I really miss home, my parents and all that greenery which is a coolness to the eyes. This long time without any travel just made me promise myself one thing – that next time, I don’t complain about how expensive it gets each time we go home and how long it takes to get back to normal… I am not sure how much I would keep that promise though… 🙂
Here is another recipe I pulled up from my umma’s notebook. I am sure she must have got it from a Laxmi Nair show. Hehe… The way this curry is different from what I have made before is the use of tamarind. For us, tamarind is exclusively reserved for fish curry. However, the use of tamarind in a kozhi curry is something found occasionally in south Keralite cuisine. I was a bit hesitant to try this and I am not even sure whether umma has tried this curry off that book, mainly because of our pre-notion. I said a “bismillah” and make this curry for afternoon along with some neychor. The chicken is marinated and fried briefly before adding to the sauce. The masala is a regular onion-tomato saute, except for the addition of the squeezed tamarind water for the gravy. That is what makes this curry stands out. If you love some extra tanginess in your curry, then do try this curry out… Off to the recipe…
Varutha Kozhi Masala | Fried Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken cut into medium pieces, washed and drained
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- FOR SAUCE:
- Oil as required
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 3 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 3 large onions thinly sliced
- 2 large tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp clove powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 lime sized pc of tamarind soaked in 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Rub the ginger garlic paste, red chilli powders and turmeric along with salt on the chicken. Allow it to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the chicken and fry both sides until just browned. It is not required to cook it fully. Drain and set aside.
- In the same pan, add more oil if neede. Add the curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
- Add the onions and as it gets browned, add the tomatoes and cook till oil seperates on top and the tomatoes are all mashed.
- Add in the spice powders and salt. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add the fried chicken back into this sauce.
- Squeeze out the tamarind and add the water. Add another 1/2 cup water and bring it to a boil. Adjust seasoning.
- Cook till the sauce thickens and the chicken is fully cooked.
- Finally add the black pepper and switch off. Garnish with more curry leaves and serve.