This Kerala Chicken curry with coconut milk is simply delicious, bursting with flavours of authentic Kerala cuisine. It's got robust, rustic flavours of pepper, fennel, coconut, chillies and curry leaves. Serve with rice, roti, appam or pilau-it goes perfect with everything!
Ingredients:
To marinate the chicken
- 500g chicken breast (bone-in cut chicken preferred), cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
For the curry:
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large onion, sliced or diced finely
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- ½ tsp grated garlic
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes, optional
- ¾ cup coconut milk
For Garam Masala:
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tbsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
Tempering:
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 dried red chili, break and remove seeds
- 2 shallots, sliced thinly
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Method:
Marinate the chicken with chili powder, salt, pepper, turmeric and garam masala. Set aside while you are preparing the rest.
Add 3 tbsp of water to the Garam Masala spice, mix well into a paste and set aside
Heat the coconut oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until they turn golden. Add the ginger and garlic paste and sauté for another minute. Add in the tomatoes if using and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add in the marinated chicken and sauté on a medium heat for another 5 minutes. Stir in the Garam Masala spice paste. Cover and cook on a low heat until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. If the pan is too dry, add ¼ cup of hot water.
Pour in the coconut milk, stir well and let it simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly thick.
Taste taste to add more salt or pepper.
In another small pan, heat the coconut oil and fry the shallots until it turns soft. Add curry leaved and dried red chili. When the curry leaves turn crisp, remove and pour this over the Kerala Chicken Curry.
Serve hot.