Clem's Chettinad Chicken Curry
Chettinad is a region within the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This chicken masala dish has a tangy, fiery character (depending on the amount of chilli used) with a background aroma/taste of roasted coconut.
It is a bit strange to me that growing up, I never came across this type of curry: strange because most of the Indians who were in Kuching where I was, were Tamils. One would have thought given cultural proximity, that dish would have come across my dining table before now. I only discovered this type of masala dish recently in Sydney.
While the
ingredients list is a bit long (and interesting), it is not a
difficult dish to prepare. Here's how:
INGREDIENTS
- 8 skinned
chicken thigh pieces.
- 50 g
grated coconut.
- 1
tablespoon poppy seeds.
- 1 teaspoon
coriander seeds.
- 1 teaspoon
cumin seeds.
- 1 teaspoon
fennel seeds.
- 3 dry
chillis.
- A sprig of
curry leaves.
- 1 piece of
star anise.
- 3 cm piece
of cinnamon quill.
- 2 green
cardamon pods.
- 3 cloves.
- 2 teaspoon
grated ginger.
- 2 crushed
garlic cloves.
- 1 to 2
tomatoes; diced.
- 1/4
teaspoon turmeric powder.
-
Gingelly oil.
This is cold pressed sesame oil.
It is not the same as the sesame oil offered by East Asian purveyors because the latter is usually oil extracted from roasted sesame seeds (has a different taste profile).
If you cannot find gingelly oil, use coconut oil.
I used gingelly oil because I happen to come across it in the Asian grocery store:
- 1 lime.
- Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing.
METHOD
Prep
- A dry
spice blend:
- Dry roast
the poppy, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, dried chilli,
cardamon pods, cloves and grated coconut. Do not burn the
spices - when the grated coconut is browned, the roasting is
done. Let the batch cool down before the next step.
- Finely dry
grind all the ingredients above and set the powder aside.
- Grate the
garlic and ginger and set aside.
- In a
generous amount of gingelly oil (or your substitute*), fry
the curry leaves and then add the onions.
- Fry the
onions until they are lightly browned. This will take time.
- Then add
the garlic and ginger. After a few minutes, add the ground
spices and star anise.
- Fry for a
few minutes then add a cup of water.
- Now you
can the diced tomatoes, and the turmeric.
- After that
you can add the chicken and mix in well.
- Cover the
saucepan and cook under very low heat for around 30 minutes.
There is little added water in the cook so check regularly to see that the curry does not catch at the bottom and start to burn. Stirring will help prevent catching. Add a little water as needed. In any case, the chicken will add liquid to the cook as the dish develops.
- When done,
remove the curry from heat and add in the juice from the
lime (to taste).
- Plate out
and then garnish with chopped fresh coriander.
Your Chettinad Chicken Curry is ready!
- Dry roast
the poppy, coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, dried chilli,
cardamon pods, cloves and grated coconut. Do not burn the
spices - when the grated coconut is browned, the roasting is
done. Let the batch cool down before the next step.
Clem's Chettinad
Chicken Curry
ENJOY!!
* You could try making an emulation of gingelly oil by grinding
some raw sesame seeds and then lightly fry them in an excess of
neutral cooking oil. Strain off the ground sesame seeds after
frying and then you should have flavoured oil for cooking. Note
that although gingelly oil is extracted using jaggery as an
extraction aid there is no apparent sweetness to the oil thus
produced.
27
August
2026
Cooking by Clem:
https://clemkuek.com/photoalbum/photo696.html
Video presentations can be found here:
Earlier Days: https://youtu.be/BWyHY1h9Y5s
Recent Past: https://youtu.be/PL9wWSI_Dfw
More Recently: https://youtu.be/nk6O2tGJ5pk
Created by Clem Kuek
