Chicken Chettinad is a spicy and aromatic South Indian chicken curry from Chettinad cuisine, made with tender chicken cooked in a freshly ground Chettinad masala. This is my version of the classic recipe, made slightly less spicy with easy substitutions for traditional ingredients, so you can enjoy this flavorful curry at home.
I always love learning different chicken curry recipes from across India because every region has its own unique flavors and cooking style. This Chicken Chettinad recipe (Nattukozhi Kozhambu) comes from my friend's grandmother in Tamil Nadu.
Like many traditional dishes, every family has its own variation. The freshly roasted Chettinad spices and coconut give this Chettinad chicken curry aromatic flavor and a spicy kick that makes it so special.
My version of this Chettinad Chicken is less spicy. I have reduced the quantity of black peppercorns in this recipe. I have also increased the quantity of coconut. If you like this recipe, you might also like my Chettinad Prawn Masala and Pepper Chicken.
What is Chicken Chettinad?
Chicken Chettinad is a spicy South Indian chicken curry from the Chettinad region of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The curry gets its unique taste from a freshly roasted spice blend called chettinad masala made with whole spices.
The spices are ground into a paste and cooked with shallots, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and chicken. The roasted coconut gives the gravy a rich, slightly nutty flavor without making it overly creamy.
Chicken Chettinad isn't sweet or creamy. It is spicy. The flavor comes mainly from the roasted spices and black pepper. I have shared some tips to reduce the spiciness of chicken curry. Serve it with steamed rice, yellow rice, neer dosa, appam, or Idiyappam.
If you like this recipe, you may also like these other amazing chicken curry recipes
Quick Look: Chicken Chettinad Recipe
- 🍽 Cuisine: South Indian, Chettinad
- ⏱ Ready in: 35 minutes. It's perfect for a comforting family meal.
- 🌶 Spice Level: Medium-Hot
- 🍳 Difficulty: Easy
- 🍗 Protein: Chicken
- 🥥 Flavor: Spicy, aromatic, roasted spices
- 👩 Great for weeknight dinners.
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Ingredient & Substitutions
See the recipe card at the end of the post for full ingredients, quantities, and a printable version.
- Chicken: You can use either boneless chicken or bone-in chicken for this recipe. Bone-in chicken makes this Chettinad curry more flavorful.
- Shallots: Traditionally, shallots (small-sized onions) are used to make this Chettinad Chicken Curry (Nattukozhi Kozhambu). You can substitute them with red onion for this recipe.
- Tomatoes: Fresh plum tomatoes are perfect for this recipe. Substitute them 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 them 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 Chettinad curry. It is easily available in South India. You can also purchase it online. If not available, you can skip this.
- Gundu red chilies: To make this Chettinad curry, Gundu (meaning "fat" in Tamil) red chilies are used. These are small, round red chilies with medium heat but do not give a bright red color. This Chettinad chicken curry is dark brown in color. I didn't have Gundu red chilies, so I used Byadagi red chilies instead. You can also use Kashmiri red chilies, but use them in a smaller quantity, as we don't want the curry to turn red.
- 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 (Step by Step Recipe)
Step 1: Marinate the chicken: In a mixing bowl, combine chicken, turmeric powder, lemon juice, salt, and ginger-garlic paste. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. Set it aside (image 1).
For Chettinad Masala
Step 2: Make Chettinad Masala: Heat a pan or skillet over low-medium heat. Add all the ingredients mentioned under Chettinad masala (except coconut) (image 2).
Step 3: Roast the spices, stirring continuously until they are aromatic. The color of the spices will start to change (image 3). Immediately remove them to a plate (image 4).
Step 4: Next, roast dry coconut until golden (image 5). Remove and set this aside on the same plate (image 6).
Step 5: Let all the roasted ingredients cool down to room temperature. Transfer them to a mixer/grinder jar (image 7). Add water and grind it to a fine paste. Chettinad masala is ready (image 8).
Cooking the Curry
Step 6: Heat 3 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add onions and curry leaves (image 9). Saute until the onions start to become golden (image 10).
Step 7: Add tomatoes and salt (image 11). (Be careful - already added salt while marinating the chicken.) Cook until tomatoes are soft and pulpy (image 12).
Step 8: Add the marinated chicken. Combine and cook until the chicken turns from pink to white (image 13). Cover and cook until the chicken is completely cooked.
Step 9: Add the Chettinad masala and combine (image 14). If necessary, add a little water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. The gravy should be thick enough to coat the chicken but still pourable. Combine and cook until the Chettinad masala comes to a boil.
Step 10: Taste and adjust the seasoning. Chettinad Chicken Curry is ready to serve. Garnish with some coriander leaves (image 16). Serve hot with Chapati or Roti or Steamed rice.
Tips to make the best 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 ingredient measurements to make the Chettinad masala. Adding too much of any ingredient can spoil the flavor of the gravy. These measurements will give the curry the perfect balance of spice.
- Adjust the spice level to suit your taste. The spicy kick in this curry comes mainly from the black pepper. You can reduce the number of black peppercorns to make it less spicy. You can also remove the seeds from the dried red chilies before adding them to the masala.
- Dried red chilies vary in heat, so adjust the quantity to suit your taste. Also, choose chilies that are spicy but do not add too much red color to the dish.
Recipe Card
Chicken Chettinad
Equipment
- Heavy bottom pan
Ingredients
For marinating the chicken
- 500 grams bone-in chicken
- 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
For Chettinad masala
- 1.5 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1- inch cinnamon sticks
- 4 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- ½ star anise
- 2 black stone flower (also called kalpasi)
- 4 dried red chilies
- ½ cups freshly grated coconut
For the curry
- 3 teaspoon coconut oil (any cooking oil can be used)
- 2 onions
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 2 tomatoes
- coriander leaves
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: In a mixing bowl, combine chicken with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt, and lemon juice. Set it aside for 30 minutes.
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 the coconut until golden. Remove and set this aside on the same plate.
- Let all the roasted ingredients cool down to room temperature. Transfer them to a mixer/grinder jar.
- Add water and grind it to a fine paste. Chettinad masala is ready.
Cooking Chettinad Chicken Curry
- Heat 3 teaspoons of oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the onions and curry leaves. Sauté until the onions start to turn golden.
- Add tomatoes and salt. Cook until tomatoes are soft and pulpy.
- Add the marinated chicken. Combine and cook until the chicken turns from pink to white. Cover and cook on low heat until the chicken is cooked.
- Add the freshly ground Chettinad masala and combine. Add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Cover and cook until the masala comes to a boil.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning. Chicken Chettinad is ready to serve. Garnish with some coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapati, Roti, or Steamed rice.
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this chicken curry is spicy. The heat to this South Indian chicken curry comes from black peppercorns and Gundu red chilies. Reduce the quantity of spices if you prefer less spicy curries.
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, cinnamon, cloves, black stone flower, Gundu red chilies, and black peppercorns.
These spices, along with coconut, are roasted and ground 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.
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 quick pressure cooker 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 leftovers. Stays good for 5-7 days. Reheat and serve.
- Do not re-freeze the curry once thawed.
- Or you can freeze it in small quantities (in separate boxes) and use as needed.
Guest
Nice step by step explaination.