Chettinad Chicken Recipe

Name: Chettinad Chicken Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Tamilnadu
Ingredients: 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; 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

January 22, 2019 by Suguna Vinodh 29 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.

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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.

Grind the chettinad spice masala ingredients with half a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Set aside.

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.

Add in a handful of curry leaves. Use curry leaves generously.

Add in the chopped shallots (small onions) and saute for five minutes.

Add in the ground masala paste. Saute for five minutes.

Add in the salt and turmeric powder.

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.

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.

Once the chicken is well cooked, remove the chicken pieces to a plate and allow the gravy to thicken.

Allow the gravy to become thick. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Let the gravy thicken to a thick masala consistency.

Add back the chicken and mix well so the masalas coat the chicken evenly. Roast the chicken for a couple of minutes.

Chettinad chicken is ready. Serve with rice.