Spicy Pepper Chicken Masala Recipe, Tamilnadu Style Pepper Chicken Masala

Pepper Chicken

There is a version of this recipe in everyone’s home. But there are two main ingredients in this recipe that makes it so aromatic. Its the pepper and the curry leaves. It makes this dish a truly emotional one. Everyone has a strong bond towards aroma or scent. It might be as simple as the smell of the shampoo on your girl friends hair or that manly cologne that your boy friend wore on the first day. I still remember the perfume my man wore on our first date. Sense of smell has a strong memory. So is the smell of pepper chicken for me. The smell of roasted pepper and curry leaves in chicken fat is something I will remember for a long long time. This pepper chicken is my family recipe and an extremely simple one. The first time I made it for my husband, he ate only this and nothing else. Here is how to do it.

Here are some of the things you can buy for making this recipe

Black Pepper https://amzn.to/3mtZifS
Heavy Duty Mixie https://amzn.to/3EAAqcr
Pressure cooker https://amzn.to/3nMhj8x
Wide Pan https://amzn.to/3BD5CGs

Here is the video of how to make Spicy Pepper Chicken Masala Recipe, Tamilnadu Style Pepper Chicken Masala

Procedure:
Spice Powder
We will need to make a spice powder for this recipe. This little extra step goes for a long way. Dry roasting of spices brings out the essential oil in the spices and flavors the chicken and makes it so aromatic. Add in all the spices to a heavy pan and dry roast on a low flame until very fragrant and the pepper starts to pop. Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely. Grind in the mixie to make a powder. Set aside.
Pepper Chicken Masala

Mixing the Chicken with Salt and Spices
Take a big bowl and add in the chicken pieces. Make sure that you cut the chicken pieces into small bite sized pieces.  You can use bone less or bone in chicken. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and the ground masala. Set aside.
Pepper Chicken Masala (2)

Cooking the Pepper Chicken Masala
Pepper Chicken Masala (1)
This recipe works well in a two or three liter cooker and cooking on a bigger cooker might burn the masalas as we are not adding any water. If you are cooking in a bigger cooker, add a little water to the pan (about 1/4 cup) to avoid burning the bottom of the pan.

Take a pressure cooker and add in the sesame oil. Add in the curry leaves to the oil. Add a layer of onions and a layer of tomatoes. Top it off with the chicken mixture. Add in 1/4 cup of thick coconut milk. I used store bought canned coconut milk today. If you are using fresh coconut milk, use thick milk. Here is the recipe on how to do fresh coconut milk.

Cover and cook for 5 minutes or 5 whistles whichever is earlier. Have a timer so you do not burn the chicken.

Switch off the flame and let the cooker rest for 10 minutes. Wait for the pressure from the cooker to release naturally. Add in some fresh curry leaves and mix well. Heat a pan and transfer the pepper chicken gravy to the pan. Saute on high heat until the gravy becomes thick and the masala gets coated on the chicken. Remove from heat. Pepper chicken masala is ready. Serve hot with rice or the south Indian parottas. Its an all time favorite recipe of mine.

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pepper-chicken-masala-1-6

Pepper Chicken Masala Recipe – Tamilnadu Style

Recipe for Tamilnadu Chettinad Style Pepper Chicken Masala. Pepper Chicken Stir-Fry.

  • Total Time: 15 mins
  • Yield: 3 persons 1x

Ingredients

Scale

Spices For the Masala Powder

  • 3 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (sombu)
  • 2 dried red chilli
  • 2 teaspoon coriander seeds

For the marinating chicken

  • 500 grams chicken, cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For cooking the gravy

  • 3 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 3 sprigs curry leaves
  • 1 large sized onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tomato, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk, thick
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  1. Add in all the spices to a heavy pan and dry roast on a low flame until very fragrant and the pepper starts to pop. Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely.
  2. Grind in the mixie to make a powder. Set aside.
  3. Take a big bowl and add in the chicken pieces. Add in the salt, turmeric powder and the ground masala. Set aside.
  4. Take a pressure cooker and add in the sesame oil. Add in the curry leaves to the oil. Add a layer of onions and a layer of tomatoes. Top it off with the chicken mixture. Add in the thick coconut milk.
  5. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or 5 whistles whichever is earlier.
  6. Switch off the flame and let the cooker rest for 10 minutes. Wait for the pressure from the cooker to release naturally.
  7. Add in some fresh curry leaves and mix well. Heat a pan and transfer the pepper chicken gravy to the pan. Saute on high heat until the gravy becomes thick and the masala gets coated on the chicken. Remove from heat.
  8. Pepper chicken masala is ready.
  9. Serve hot with rice or the south Indian parottas.

Notes

Use a 2 or 3 litre cooker only for this recipe.

Cover and cook for 5 minutes or 5 whistles whichever is earlier. Have a timer so you do not burn the chicken. If you are cooking in an induction stove (recommended), cook on 1200W. If you are cooking on a gas stove, cook in medium heat. No need to add any water. The moisture from the chicken, veggies and coconut milk will be just sufficient to cook the chicken.

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Cuisine: Tamilnadu

pepper-chicken

76 thoughts on “Spicy Pepper Chicken Masala Recipe, Tamilnadu Style Pepper Chicken Masala”

  1. Hi Suguna,

    Great recipe I have made loads of times and each one seems to get better….one question though, when layering the ingredients (curry leaves, onions especially) in the pressure cooker, should the oil be already hot or just room temperature?
    Thanks
    H






  2. Excellent recipe!! Superb! Cooker lae I made everything. The change I made is I added grated carrot and potatoes as my kutty toddler doesnt eat meat and is in love with potatoes. No difference to taste at all. Instead of 5mins, I extended to 10min on med heat. Kaaram was perfect. Not too much as coconut milk made it softer. Just too good! Romba thanks! 💜💜💜






  3. Do you need to marinate the chicken in masala for certain time before pressure cooking?

    I tried your mutton sukka and Andhra chili chicken. Both turned out well.

  4. Sure winner!!! My family love this and now it has become one of our Sunday regulars. Thanks Suguna.






  5. Somasundaram R

    Is adding Tamarind is compatible? From what we know we shouldn’t mix tamarind with yoghurt or milk.

  6. Hi Suguna

    Love all your recipes. Since im from Coimbatore origin ur cooking gives me the home feel. Keep rocking.

    I have question on this recipe. Will naatu kozhi get cooked in this time u have mentioned??

  7. Srinivasan R

    Andra style chillichicken recipie please , the green color gravy which is made with green chilli.

  8. one of the easiest and best pepper chicken recipes i have tried in a while.. i paired it with your fried recipe it was amazing, keep posting more recipes, i would love to try more 🙂






  9. Awesome recipe. I tried it out today… My family loved it. The warmth and taste of pepper makes it very tasty. It is a piece of art!
    Thanks for sharing.






  10. Dear Suguna,

    Love your recipes. I would be happy if you give the chicken meausrement in grams or in pounds.

    Thank you.

  11. Hi Suguna ! Love your collection of recipes . Can I use the same recipe for mutton pepper masala please






  12. Saranya Karthik

    Hi kannamma I like the way calling u so.. I’ve tried many of ur recipes and oh my gawd all have come out very well.. this recipe made my hubby go so happy and crazy after me lol 😉.. pls do update more on chicken recipes especially for bodybuilding people..






  13. Thank you for the recipe..
    I made this for my friends on my birthday and everyone loved it..

  14. Bharathi Soundararajan

    My husband says ” you have become a master chef “. He is consuming last bit of the chicken. Thank you ,please do contact us whenever you are in Salem .Like to host a breakfast ,lunch ,dinner or just share a cup of coffee!! Thanks a lot.






  15. Shashi Murthy

    Hi Suguna you are just awesome. I have been cooking ur recipes and it’s so delicious each time and every time. This weekend I plan on the pepper chicken. Just one question – weight wise what’s the quantum of boneless Chicken used.
    Btw the first time I read Kannada recipe I imagined you to be a 65+ old wizened wrinkled lady 😀
    When I saw the beautiful Suguna I was surprised 😮

  16. This recipe is awesome! I’ve made it a few times and it comes out great. Your blog has become my go to for Tamil recipes. Thank you 🙂






  17. Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for such a lovely recipe. Was so happy a novice cook like me could cool something so delicious thanks to your recipe:)






  18. Hi sugun!
    Chicken curry without ginger and garlic!!!!!
    What a magic!!!
    Superb!!My sweeeeeet kisses to u.






  19. I was reading opos techniques and found your website. Glad I did. That’s an awesome recipe. I do not have a food measuring

    scale but would like to know how many chicken breasts are in one pouch?
    I usually buy the skinless boneless organic chicken breast from Costco. This comes in 3 pouches attached.

    Thanks much,
    Megha

  20. Again a wonderful and yummy chicken curry mam. It was soooo good as u said finger licking recipe. Thanks a lot and keep up ur hard work..

  21. Hi, I tried this today but increased the spices cause I used a full chicken . I didn’t have coriander seeds so I just added coriander powder while cooking and I added cubed potatoes. It came out really well. Thanks so much for sharing. I can’t wait to make it again. Oh and I used coconut oil 🙂

  22. Hi Suguna

    Thanks for the recipe it came out well but seek your advice on the measures for 1kg chicken. Thanks






    1. one chicken breast is approx 130-150 grams. So we have used 2 chicken breasts, that is 250 – 300 grams (approx). For 1 kg chicken, just do four times the ingredients and you will be fine.

      1. This worked well for me in a 3L cooker… but 250 grams is too less for my family as there are many people. While making this recipe for 1 kg chicken, do we need to use a bigger cooker? Will the cooking time vary for more chicken?






  23. Hi Suguna,
    Was looking for a mild but south Indiany chicken recipe for a Canadian friend. i knew you would have one, i loved this recipe for it had minimal ingredients. Made it today. Everyone was blown over! I am making this everyweek. Dont think I ll ever be tired of it! Thank you Suguna! Your sense of measurement of ingredients is unbeatable.
    Noticed the font size of ingredients in the picture mirror their measurement size. ?

  24. Aswatha Anand

    Enga irunthuma vantheenga…kongunattu ammaiyae… Loads and loads of thanks for making my daughter eat who was a vegetarian till I tried your pepper chicken recipie…lovvvvvve ya

  25. After I moved to the Netherlands from Singapore , I lost interest in Indian cooking. After I moved to California and I chanced upon your website and I am
    Absolutely in love with it and finally am cooking confidently!






  26. Jameenraj Nambiyar

    Vanakkam mam..This is jameenraj from Singapore ..I had tried that pepper chicken on Christmas with my brother ..It came well and my bro enjoyed it..And i expect more dishes from u..My best wishes..






  27. Vanakam madam,im mrs Segare barathithasan from malaysia,I had tried your menu like chicken black pepper,hmmmm…..until my kids lick fingers






  28. Hi Kannada,

    I tried this recipe today and it was great. Thank you for the recipe. Great going. Congo. 🙂






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