Chicken Chettinad with Basmati Rice
A popular Tamil dish. In India, Chicken Chettinad has to be one of the most popular poultry dishes and it is this boneless chicken, often called chicken tikka, that graces most pizza menus.
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Loading... Ingredients
1 whole chicken, weighing about 1,2 kg, cut into pieces
2,5 ml turmeric
40 ml sunflower oil
5 ml (1 tsp) mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
10 ml (2 tsp) crushed ginger
1 medium tomato, blanched, skinned and chopped
250 ml (1 cup) water
30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
Fresh curry leaves for garnishing
4 – 6 cups cooked Spekko India Gate Basmati Rice
Chettinad paste
10 ml (2 tsp) black peppercorns
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
15 ml (1 tbsp) coriander seeds
2,5 ml fenugreek seeds
39 ml (2 tbsp) desiccated coconut
4 whole dry red chillies.
8 fresh curry leaves
Method
1.First make the Chettinad paste: roast the cloves, cinnamon stick, coriander and fenugreek seeds, and desiccated coconut in a dry pan.
2.Grind together with the chillies and curry leaves, adding a little water, until a paste forms.
3.Sprinkle turmeric and salt over the chicken pieces and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
4.Heat oil in a pot and sauté mustard seeds until they cough and splutter.
5.Add onion and sauté until golden brown. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry for a few seconds before adding the Chettinad paste. Stir the paste for a minute and then add the chicken pieces.
6.Lower the heat and coat the chicken pieces in the Chettinad masala, adding water if the masala starts to stick. Add little amounts of water and continue stirring for 5 minutes, adding water only when necessary. Add 250 ml water and simmer on a low heat until the chicken is almost cooked which will take about 45 minutes.
7.Add blanched tomato and simmer until the tomato dissolves into the sauce. Adjust the seasoning. Pour over lemon juice and garnish with curry leaves. Serve with the Basmati rice.