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Chettinad Chicken Recipe

January 22, 2019 by Suguna Vinodh 33 Comments

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Recipe for spicy Chettinad Chicken Masala (dry recipe). Recipe with step by step pictures.

Chettinad chicken is a favorite with everyone. What makes it so unique is the usage of ingredients like gundu chillies, kalpasi (stone flower) and Indian shallots. The masalas are robust and spicy. Traditionally, tomatoes are not used in the recipe. Usually served with rice.

Here is how to do Chettinad Chicken Recipe
First, We will make a chettinad masala paste for the recipe.
In Chettinad cuisine, dry red chilli variety called the “gundu” is predominantly used. If you cannot source gundu, regular long chillies will work too! The flavour of gundu chillies is very unique.

View this post on Instagram

Tamilnadu's Gundu Chillies குண்டு மிளகாய் 🌶 🌶 🌶 Gundu Milagai or Gundu (fat) chillies is a quintessential ingredient in Tamilnadu cuisine. One of the very important ingredient in Chettinad cuisine. To the world its called as Ramnad Mundu Chillies as its one of the main crops grown in the Ramnad district. The chilli is smoky and has a unique taste. Its not very spicy and the seeds rattle inside. They have a very thin skin. Gundu chilli crop is exclusive to the region due to its drought resistance and saline properties. Ramnad is an extremely dry region. Mostly "manavaari" crops are mainstay. 'Manaavaari' land / region is where the crops are not planned. The crops are decided based on the given rain and climatic conditions. The crop is left to the mercy of natural conditions and irrigation is very very minimal. There is a saying in Tamil that goes – இது வானம் பார்த்த பூமி… மழைதான் எங்க சாமீ #ramnadmundu #gunduchillies #gundumilagai #chettinadcuisine

A post shared by Suguna Vinodh (@kannammacooks) on Jan 21, 2019 at 6:12am PST

Here is what you will need for making the chettinad spice masala.
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Grind the chettinad spice masala ingredients with half a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Set aside.
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Heat oil in a pan and add in the kalpasi (stone flower) and cinnamon. Kalpasi – Kal means rock and Pasi means green moss. Its also called as stone flower. Kalpasi is nothing but a unique variety of moss that usually grows on rocks in a moist place. They are carefully harvested and dried and used in cooking. It imparts a very earthy aroma to the dish.
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Add in a handful of curry leaves. Use curry leaves generously.
chettinad-chicken-dry-masala-gravy-recipe-5

Add in the chopped shallots (small onions) and saute for five minutes.
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Add in the ground masala paste. Saute for five minutes.
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Add in the salt and turmeric powder.
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Add in the chicken and a cup of water. I like to use chicken in bone for this recipe. The gelatinous juices from the bones that release while cooking are very flavourful. When making any south Indian curry, make sure to use chicken in bone.
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Cover the pan with a lid and simmer on a low flame for 25 minutes. Saute once in a while to avoid scorching at the bottom.
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Once the chicken is well cooked, remove the chicken pieces to a plate and allow the gravy to thicken.
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Allow the gravy to become thick. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
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Let the gravy thicken to a thick masala consistency.
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Add back the chicken and mix well so the masalas coat the chicken evenly. Roast the chicken for a couple of minutes.
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Chettinad chicken is ready. Serve with rice.
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Print
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Chettinad Chicken Recipe


★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 3 servings 1x
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Description

Recipe for spicy Chettinad Chicken Masala (dry recipe). Recipe with step by step pictures.


Ingredients

Scale

For the chettinad chicken masala

  • 5–6 gundu chillies (use less if you want a less spicy dish)
  • 10 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoon black pepper (use less if you want a less spicy dish)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Other ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon Indian sesame oil (Indian gingely oil)
  • a big pinch of kalpasi
  • 1/2 inch piece cinnamon
  • 5 sprigs curry leaves
  • 1.5 cups Indian shallots (small onions), chopped (around 250 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 500 grams chicken in bone

Instructions

  1. Grind the chettinad chicken masala ingredients with half a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a pan and add in the kalpasi (stone flower) and cinnamon. Add in a handful of curry leaves.
  3. Add in the chopped shallots (small onions) and saute for five minutes.
  4. Add in the ground masala paste. Saute for five minutes.
  5. Add in the salt and turmeric powder.
  6. Add in the chicken and a cup of water.
  7. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer on a low flame for 25 minutes. Saute once in a while to avoid scorching at the bottom.
  8. Once the chicken is well cooked, remove the chicken pieces to a plate and allow the gravy to thicken.
  9. Allow the gravy to become thick. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
  10. Let the gravy thicken to a thick masala consistency.
  11. Add back the chicken and mix well so the masalas coat the chicken evenly. Roast the chicken for a couple of minutes.
  12. Chettinad chicken is ready. Serve with rice.
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Category: Side dish
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

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Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

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Comments

  1. Rakshanda Anil Visave says

    May 29, 2021 at 10:30 pm

    I love this recipe. Everytime I make chettinad I only look for this recipe. My father and mother really enjoy when I make it.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 31, 2021 at 1:25 am

      Thank You!

      Reply
  2. Sesh says

    February 21, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    Hi, So far I tried four times. Every time the results were perfect. How can I make this to gravy. Please suggest.

    Reply
  3. Siva Dhama says

    January 16, 2021 at 4:12 pm

    Has all the ingredients at home and we tried this recipe exact to the details, and it came out excellent.
    Thanks for sharing this wonderful Chettinad dish

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 16, 2021 at 8:29 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Sesh says

    December 22, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    Hi, Today i tried this recipe. Only change I made was to reduce pepper to half, since I eat less spicy. The result was excellent. My colleagues liked it very much. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      December 23, 2020 at 4:33 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Renu says

    September 20, 2020 at 3:17 am

    Came out very well

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      September 20, 2020 at 8:30 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sesh says

        February 21, 2021 at 12:05 pm

        Hi, Request you to post Chettinad mutton gravy for rice. I don’t find any. Thank you.

        Reply
  6. Chandra says

    August 30, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    Yummy Receipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      August 31, 2020 at 9:04 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  7. Ananya says

    July 12, 2020 at 7:03 pm

    This recipe is easy and authentic. I added a few tablespoons of thinky sliced coconut at the onset, which along with the curry leaves which gave it a very nice flavour.
    Thank you kanamma!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 13, 2020 at 2:11 pm

      Thank you Ananya. Happy you liked the Chettinad chicken. Stay safe and happy cooking.

      Reply
  8. Amitha Naik says

    July 11, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    Thanks for your reply Suguna. I am in Florida. I will check if there is one of those stores here.

    Reply
  9. Amitha Naik says

    July 6, 2020 at 10:44 pm

    Suguna,
    When you were in the US, were you able to find gundu chillies in the Indian store?

    Love your website. Thanks for providing a beautiful and tasty introduction to Tamilian cuisine.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 6, 2020 at 11:46 pm

      Thanks Amitha. We lived in California. I used to take them from home. Sometimes, we used to get in Srilankan grocery and Tamil grocery stores.

      Reply
      • Amitha Naik says

        July 11, 2020 at 10:29 pm

        Thanks for your reply Suguna. I am in Florida. I will check.

        Reply
        • Suguna Vinodh says

          July 11, 2020 at 10:43 pm

          🙂

          Reply
  10. Priyadarcene says

    July 4, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    I tried this one and it really came out well. We enjoyed it as family. Thank you

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      July 4, 2020 at 3:24 pm

      Thank you so much. Glad you liked the Chettinad chicken recipe.

      Reply
  11. Maria says

    April 27, 2020 at 11:29 pm

    Super.yummy chicken curry…thanks for this lovely recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. Siddharth says

    January 21, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Hi Suguna,

    Thank you for this recipe. I’ve left the chicken to simmer as I type this comment and the aroma is amazing.

    I’m not a seasoned cook, and off late I’ve developed an interest in cooking and it’s because of your recipes. Your recipes have a certain precision to them, which I’m unable to find in others and hence has enabled me to cook well and further my interest.

    Please keep posting.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 23, 2020 at 1:04 am

      Thank you so much. Happy cooking:)

      Reply
  13. Arthi Vijay says

    May 18, 2019 at 11:02 am

    This was so delicious and flavoursome. I’m certainty going to be making it often. Thank you! You’re a rockstar!

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 18, 2019 at 12:20 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Sowmya S says

    April 28, 2019 at 9:27 pm

    Probably the easiest chicken dish I’ve made. So few ingredients, yet so delicious! Only you can do that 🙂 Thank you for this.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      April 29, 2019 at 1:38 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  15. Greesha says

    February 13, 2019 at 6:58 pm

    Hi kannamma,

    I tried this recipe and it was just perfect. I was always under the impression that you have to add way too many spices to get the authentic chettinadu taste. But I was wrong. With just a few ingredients, I could get the same taste as that of a restaurant style chettinadu chicken..I am a regular follower of your blog and I absolutely love your writing and recipes. I don’t know how many recipes I have tried out from because there are too many. Most of them have turned out be finger licking good :). Never found time to write a thank you note, but today I thought I shouldn’t delay any further..keep rocking!

    Thanks
    Greesha

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      February 13, 2019 at 9:25 pm

      Thank you so much Greesha. This made my day!!! Happy cooking!

      Reply
  16. Tawee says

    January 25, 2019 at 2:06 am

    This looks absolutely finger-licking good!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lekha says

      July 5, 2020 at 3:41 pm

      Can I use normal red chilli instead of gundu chilli ?

      Reply
      • Suguna Vinodh says

        July 6, 2020 at 5:15 pm

        Sure you can if you dont have gundu chillies.

        Reply

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