Malabar Chicken Curry

 Malabar Chicken Curry is a Kerala-style chicken curry cooked in coconut oil and has a distinct taste from the use of curry leaves, spices, coconut paste and coconut oil. The sauce is luscious and creamy, and the coconut flavour shines through. You can dip and slurp your way through this for your lunch and dinner with some rotis, appam, rice or even slices of bread! It is pretty easy to bring together as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken breast, cut into bite sizes, or chicken bone-in

Marination for Chicken:

• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
•  ½ tsp turmeric
• 1½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp Madras curry powder

For the Curry:

• 2-3 tbsp coconut oil, or any vegetable oil
• 2-3 dried red chilies
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2 sticks cinnamon, broken
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cups grated coconut
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup tomato puree
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tsp Madras curry powder
• 1 cup coconut milk

Ingredients for "Tadka"

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2-3 small dried red chili
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• ¼ cup grated coconut
• a sprig of coconut leaves

Method:

Wash the chicken and add the spices for marination. Use your hand to coat the chicken piece ensuring the chicken are well coated. Cover and allow to sit in the room temperature for 2-3 hours.

In a large non-stick pot, heat some coconut oil. AS soon as the oil gets hot, add dried chili, mustard seed, black peppercorns, curry leaves, cinnamon stick and chopped garlic. Sauté this on medium low heat for 30 seconds. The mustard seeds will splatter so keep your face and hands away.

Add the grated coconut and toss until it turns light brown and aromatic.

Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion turns soft and translucent. Add tomato puree and cook until the rawness of tomato goes away.

Add red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, black pepper powder, turmeric powder and Madras curry powder. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until the spices gets cooked completely.

Add chicken into the pot. Toss well to coat the spices with the chicken. Roast the chicken over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Keep stirring continuously. Don't let the spices catch to the bottom of the pan. 

Pour the coconut milk in and stir well until combined. Add a sprig of curry leaves. Stir lightly. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on low heat.

To make the tadka, in another non-stick pan, heat some coconut oil. A soon as the oil gets hot, add curry leaves, dried red chilies, mustard seeds and grated coconut. Toss lightly until the coconut turns light brown and nutty. Take it off the heat.

Pour the Tadka on the chicken and serve immediately with rice or roti.