Chicken Chettinad is a spicy South Indian chicken from Chettinad cuisine made with chicken cooked in freshly ground masala. This chicken gravy is so aromatic and flavorful that you will love to make it again. Similar to pepper chicken, this spicy chicken curry is flavored with aromatic and spicy masala. Here’s how to make this Chettinad chicken at home.
What is Chicken Chettinad?
Chicken Chettinad is a spicy South Indian chicken curry from Chettinad cuisine. Chettinad cuisine is from the Chettinad region of South Indian State, Tamil Nadu.
The dishes from Chettinad cuisine are very spicy. If you are a spice lover then definitely this restaurant style Chettinad chicken is just for you.
You can make chicken Chettinad masala in 3 easy steps
- Marinate the chicken
- Prepare Chettinad masala
- Make the chicken curry
Serve this Chettinad Chicken curry with steamed rice or rice-based accompaniments such as appams, neer dosas, idiyappam, adai, and idlis.
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other amazing chicken curry recipes
- Hyderabadi Chicken Masala
- Kolhapuri Chicken Curry
- Andhra Chili Chicken
- Bhuna Chicken Masala
- Chicken Ghee Roast
- Gavran Chicken Curry
Why you might need this recipe?
- Quick and easy to make - You can make this spicy chicken curry in 3 easy steps.
- I have shared some tips to reduce the spiciness of chicken curry.
- Homemade Chettinad Chicken Masala - Preparing the masala at home is easy. You can customise the masala as per your taste.
- For meal prep - roast the masala in advance. Let it cool down to room temperature. Store it in an airtight container in the freezer. Stays good for a month.
- Easy to customize - See the ingredient notes below for alternative ingredients. You can add or skip the ingredients as per your taste.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken - You can use either boneless chicken or chicken with bones. Chicken with bones makes the curry more delectable.
- Lemon juice - You can substitute it with vinegar.
- Onions - I have used red oinion for this recipe. Traditionally, shallots (small size onions) are used to make this curry.
- Tomatoes - Fresh plum tomatoes are perfect for this recipe. Substitute it with canned tomatoes or tomato puree.
- Curry leaves - South Indian curries are incomplete without the beautiful aroma of fresh curry leaves. If not available, you can substitute it with fresh coriander leaves. However, the aroma differs.
- Whole spices - Black stone flower (also known as Kalpasi, dagad phool or biryani phool) is an important ingredient to make this curry. It is easily availble in South India. You can also purchase it online. If not available, you can skip this.
- Dried red chilies - To make this curry you have to use chilies that are spicy but will not give red color to the dish. Traditionally, Gundu (means fat in Tamil language) red chilies are used. They are small round red chilies that is medium hot. This chicken curry is dark brown in color. I do not have any other variety of red chilies so added byadagi red chilies. You can also use Kashmiri red chilies but make sure to add it in less quantity. We do not need red color in the curry.
- Dry coconut - Another important ingredient of South Indian curry. You can substitute it with fresh coconut or coconut milk. Coconut helps to thicken the gravy.
How to make Chicken Chettinad Gravy
Step - 1 Marinate the Chicken
- In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, lemon juice, salt, and turmeric. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. Set it aside.
Step -2 Making the Chettinad Masala
- Heat a pan or skillet over low-medium heat.
- Add all the ingredients mentioned under Chettinad masala (except coconut).
- Roast it, stirring continuously until the whole spices are aromatic. The color of the spices will start to change. Immediately remove it to a plate.
- Next, roast dry coconut until golden. Remove and set this aside on the same plate.
- Let all the roasted ingredients cool down to a room temperature.
- Transfer them to a mixer/grinder jar.
- Add water and grind it to a fine paste. Chettinad masala is ready.
Step - 3 Making the chicken gravy
- Heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Add bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Next, add onions and curry leaves. Saute until the onions starts to become golden.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook until raw smell from ginger and garlic leaves.
- Add tomatoes and salt. (Be careful - already added salt while marinating the chicken.)
- Cook until tomatoes are soft and pulpy.
- Add the marinated chicken. Combine and cook until the color of chicken turns from pink to white.
- Add the chettinad masala and combine. If necessary, add little water.
- Combine and cook until the masala comes to a boil.
- Now, add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
- Chettinad Chicken Curry is ready to serve. Garnish with some coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapati or Roti or Steamed rice.
Tips to make Chettinad Chicken
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator. It makes the chicken soft and juicy.
- Please follow the exact measurements of ingredients to make Chettinad masala. Any ingredient if exceeded can spoil the entire gravy. This measurement will give perfect spiciness to the curry.
- Roast all the spices on low to medium heat. Do not roast it on high or else the masala will burn and taste bitter.
- You can roast the ingredients to make Chettinad masala in advance. Let it cool down completely. Transfer it to a zip-lock bag and freeze it. Stays good for a month. Whenever needed, just add water and grind to a fine paste. Make the chicken curry.
- Adjust the spice level as per your taste. The spicy kick to the curry comes from black pepper. You can reduce the number of black peppercorns to reduce the spiciness. Also, de-seed the red chilies before adding them to the masala.
- Dried red chilies differ in spiciness. So add as per your taste. Also, make sure to select the red chilies that are spicy but will not give red color to the dish.
FAQ
Is Chettinad cuisine spicy?
Yes, this cuisine is well known for its spicy and flavorful dishes. There is heavy use of spices in making the dishes. But the heat to the dish comes from black peppercorns and Gundu red chilies.
What is so special about Chettinad cuisine?
The dishes from Chettinad cuisine are delicious, aromatic, and spicy. There is the use of a wide variety of spices like coriander, cumin, fennel, star anise, mace, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, black stone flower, Gundu red chilies, and black peppercorns.
These spices along with coconut are roasted and grind to make freshly ground Chettinad masala. This masala is the secret behind flavorful dishes of Chettinad cuisine. The use of black stone flower (Kalpasi) makes their dishes so aromatic and tempting.
Additionally, the tempering of shallots and curry leaves makes the dishes so tempting that you cannot resist them.
How to reduce the heat of the dish?
You can reduce the number of black peppercorns and de-seed the red chilies before adding them to the masala. I have tried making it this way. The chicken curry tastes equally delicious.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve Chettinad chicken curry with steamed rice or Jeera rice.
- You can also serve it with rice-based accompaniments such as appams, neer dosa, idiyappam, adais, and idlis.
Storage Suggestions
- Leftover chicken Chettinad curry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve.
- You can also freeze the leftover. Stays good for 5-7 days. Reheat and serve.
- Do not re-freeze the curry once thawed.
- Or you can freeze it in small quantity (in separate boxes) and use as needed.
Chicken Chettinad Curry
Recipe Card
Chicken Chettinad Gravy recipe (Spicy Chettinad Chicken Masala)
South Indian spicychicken curry made with chicken cooked in freshly ground masala. This chicken gravy from Chettinad cuisine is so aromatic and flavorful that you will love tomake it again. You can serve it with steamed rice or rice based accompaniments such as appams , dosas, idiyappams, adais and idlis.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 260kcal
Equipment
- Heavy bottom pan
Ingredients
For marinating the chicken
- 500 gram Chicken
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
For Chettinad masala
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1.5 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 blades of mace
- 1- inch cinnamon
- 4 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- ½ star anise
- 2 black stone flower kalpasi
- 5 dried red chilies
- ½ cup coconut
For the gravy
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 onions
- 1 spring curry leaves
- 2 to matoes
- coriander leaves
Instructions
Step - 1 Marinating the chicken
- In a mixing bowl, combine chicken with turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice. Set it aside for 30 minutes.
Step-2 Making Chettinad masala
- Heat a pan over low-medium heat.
- Add all the ingredients mentioned under Chettinad masala (except coconut).
- Roast it, stirring continuously until the whole spices are aromatic. The color of the spices will start to change. Immediately remove it to a plate.
- Next, roast dry coconut until golden. Remove and set this aside on the same plate.
- Let all the roasted ingredients cool down to a room temperature.
- Transfer them to a mixer/grinder jar.
- Add water and grind it to a fine paste. Chettinad masala is ready.
Step - 3 Making the curry
- Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in the same pan over medium heat.
- Add bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Next, add onions and curry leaves. Saute until the onions starts to become golden.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook until raw smell from ginger and garlic leaves.
- Add tomatoes and salt. (Be careful - already added salt while marinating the chicken.)
- Cook until tomatoes are soft and pulpy.
- Add the marinated chicken. Combine and cook until the color of chicken turns from pink to white.
- Add the chettinad masala and combine. If necessary add little water.
- Combine and cook until the masala comes to a boil.
- Now, add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
- Chettinad Chicken Curry is ready to serve. Garnish with some coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapati or Roti or Steamed rice.
Video
Notes
- Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator. It makes the chicken soft and juicy.
- Please follow the exact measurements of ingredients to make Chettinad masala. Any ingredient if exceeded can spoil the entire gravy. This measurement will give perfect spiciness to the curry.
- Roast all the spices on low to medium heat. Do not roast it on high or else the masala will burn and taste bitter.
- You can roast the ingredients to make Chettinad masala in advance. Let it cool down completely. Transfer it to a zip-lock bag. Freeze it. Stays good for a month. Whenever needed, just add water and grind to a fine paste. Make the chicken curry.
- Adjust the spice level as per your taste. The spicy kick to the curry comes from black pepper. You can reduce the number of black peppercorns to reduce the spiciness. Also, de-seed the red chilies before adding them to the masala.
- Dried red chilies differ in spiciness. So add as per your taste. Also, make sure to select the red chilies that are spicy but will not give red color to the dish.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcal
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Guest
Nice step by step explaination.