Kerala Chicken Curry
If you have never been to India, then this is the dish that sums up the wonderful state of Kerala. If you have been, then it should bring back some amazing memories. Mona Farrugia licks her lips.
Information
| Main Ingredient | Chicken |
| Preparation Time | 30 minutes |
| Cooking Time | Less than 1 hour |
| Course | Main: Meat |
| Recipe Serves | 4 |
| Recipe Type | Southern Indian |
This here is a basic Keralan curry which I wrote after some training with the very patient Sous Chef of the Kumarakom Lake Resort, currently, and for the past three years, India’s number 1 resort. Considering what a massive country it is, this is high praise indeed. In fact, when The Writer and I stayed there we did not manage to eat a bad meal once: it was fabulous curries and breads every lunch and dinner.
This is one of those curries which comes in copious quantities of sauce. So when you end up with this at the end of the recipe, do not imagine that you have done something wrong. The Indians call this ‘gravy’. For those who like their rice, they use the ‘gravy’ to give the rice a nice kick. For the low-carbers, I always make a lentil (dhal) dish to go on the side.
| You need: 500 cooked, deboned chicken meat 5 tablespoons coconut oil, for frying  To make a Kerala masala: 3 cardamom pods 3 cloves 9 pepper corns Crush all together until you have a rough consistency and remove the cardamom skins  The rest: ¾ inch root ginger, cut into fine strips 2 cloves of garlic, chopped into fine strips 1 branch of curry leaves [from Arkadia – don’t worry if they are dry: they will rehydrate in the curry itself] 1 large sliced onion 3 teaspoons mustard seeds 2 teaspoons chilli powder 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon of kerala masala [see above] 1 cinnamon stick, preferably large (the Indians use the small ones for dessert dishes)  200ml of tomato passata 100ml chicken stock 200ml coconut milk salt  How:  Fry all the dry ingredients including the chicken in the coconut oil on a medium heat. Then add the liquid ingredients (from the puree to the coconut milk) turn up the heat for 3 minutes and simmer gently until the sauce has thickened   Recipe written and devised by Mona Farrugia and the Executive Chef of the Kumarakom Lake Resort, Kerala. |
Coconut oil or butter is available from Casa Natura, in High Street, Sliema
Comments
This is just fantastic! Always a winner, great to eat with friends or family. Enjoy! I usually add a side dish of fresh mango with mint.
