Chicken Masala Recipe, Tamil Restaurant style chicken Masala

Name: Chicken Masala Recipe, Tamil Restaurant style chicken Masala
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: Tamilnadu
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Indian sesame oil; 4 cloves; 1/2 inch cinnamon; 5-6 Indian shallots (small onions); 6 cloves garlic, chopped; 1/2 inch piece ginger, chopped; 1/2 cup onion, chopped; 2 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon rock salt or sea salt; 1 teaspoon kuzhambu milagai thool; 1/2 cup fresh shredded coconut; 1.5 cups water – divided; 1/2 kg chicken with bone; 2 tablespoon Indian sesame oil / gingely oil; 15 Indian shallots (small onions), sliced; 2 small country tomatoes, chopped; 1 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon white vinegar / apple cider vinegar; 6 dry red chillies, seeds removed; 1 teaspoon black pepper powder; 3 sprigs curry leaves

November 18, 2018 by Suguna Vinodh 28 Comments

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Recipe for spicy chicken masala, Tamilnadu style. Spicy chicken masala made with home made masala paste and spices. Excellent side dish. Recipe with step by step pictures.

This recipe for spicy chicken masala is from Ganesan. Ganesan is a home cook who works at Vinodh’s brothers place. We recently had this curry and I really liked it. The home ground masala with coconut and fennel forms the base of the curry. The masalas are simmered on a low flame for a long time and it gets nicely caramelized and yumm! Do try this recipe at home. I have minimally changed the original recipe to suit my kitchen.

Whenever making a thick thokku, masala etc involving meat, here is the trick I follow. Once the meat is cooked, I remove the meat and allow the gravy to reduce. It does two things. The meat stays soft without over cooking and doesnt break down. The gravy can be reduced to our liking. Cooking the gravy for a long time caramalizes the onions etc.. and the taste is super delicious and addictive.
If you must have observed the Tamil style hotels, they would pour the gravy on a big dosa tava and reduce it first. The meat will be added in the end and mixed. The concentrated flavours of the gravy combined with the meat is what makes some dishes stand out.

Here is the video of how to make Chicken Masala

Here is how to do Chicken Masala.
First we will roast some ingredients and make a masala paste that will form the base of this curry. Here is how to go about it.
Heat Indian sesame oil / gingely oil in a pan and add in the cinnamon and cloves.

Now add in the Indian shallots (small onions), ginger, garlic and the regular chopped onions.

Add in the fennel seeds, black pepper and the salt. I have used sea salt today. Rock salt will also work well for this recipe.

Saute for five minutes till the onions are soft. Add in a teaspoon of kuzhambu milagai thool. Also add in the fresh shredded coconut. Saute for a minute and remove from heat. Set aside.
Note: “Kuzhambu milagai thool” is a home ground spice that is similar to sambar powder and each house has its own blend. You can buy them online too! If you do not have kuzhambu milagai thool, add in store bought powder or just omit it. Do not substitute with anything else.

Once the ingredients in the pan is cool, add it to a mixie and wash the pan with a cup of water and add it back to the pan. The caramelized bits sticking in the pan adds a lot of flavour. Grind to a really smooth paste. Set aside.

For Indian curries, you will need a heavy duty mixie and here is what I recommend.

Heat Indian sesame oil in a pan and add in the sliced shallots. Saute for 5-6 minutes till the shallots are soft.

Add in the chopped tomato and saute for a couple of minutes.

Add in the turmeric powder and the chicken pieces. Chicken thighs work well for this recipe. Always use chicken with bone as bone is where a lot of flavour is.

Add in the ground masala. A lot of masala will be sticking to the mixie. Wash the mixie with half a cup of water and add it back to the pan.

Add in a teaspoon of vinegar. Any regular vinegar or apple cider vinegar will work.

Remove the seeds of the dry red chillies and add it to the pan. The chillies is just for the flavour. It will become very spicy if you add it along with the seeds. So a little caution there about the red chillies.

So please remove the seeds and then add it to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on a low flame for 20 – 25 minutes. Stir every five minutes so the masalas dont scorch at the bottom.

After 20 – 25 minutes, the chicken should be cooked. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside on a plate.

Now, we will reduce the masala to a thick “gojju”. Simmer on a low flame and stir occasionally so the masalas does not scorch at the bottom of the pan.

The oil from the gravy will slowly start separating and small specks of grease will float on top. This is the indication that the gravy is done.

Add in black pepper powder.

Add in a few sprigs of curry leaves. Fresh curry leaves adds a nice flavour and aroma.

Add back the chicken and mix well. Spicy Tamilnadu style chicken masala is ready.

The chicken masala can be served with dosa, appam and rice.