Nadan Chicken Curry | Kerala Style Simple Chicken Curry | Easy Chicken Curry without Coconut - Type 2 :)

Nothing gives me more pleasure than the food I cook being wiped clean by my 2 boys :) And I'm sure that would be the same for every person who loves to cook, right :) Though we love to cook chicken in myriad number of ways, this is that recipe that we go back to every now and then mainly coz it's sooper easy (the basic Indian chicken gravy recipe) and my little one loooves it.. Even if I make it a little extra hot he will have this with the same enthusiasm and a little moist eyes ;) This is nothing fancy, just the basic onion-tomato base gravy and the normal spices simmered with lots of love :) 

During my initial days of cooking I never used to get the dense gravy in my chicken curry and it would be loose or watery. I always used to wonder what was going wrong and finally found that adding a bit of onion and tomato puree while preparing the base gravy changes the consistency. It was partly my laziness of grinding them to avoid washing an extra set of utensils that kept me away from that consistency for quite some time ;) So if any of you wondering why your gravy is watery, now you know! I love having this versatile gravy with practically anything from steamed rice / chapathi / porotta / appam / dosa / idly / idiyappam / puttu / ghee rice / coconut milk rice. Do try out and let me know which combo is your favourite :)

My other chicken recipes that you can find in the blog would be

Chettinadu Kozhi Kulambu
Chicken Masaledar | Spicy Chicken Masala

Coorgi Style Chicken Curry

Mughlai Chicken

Baked Chicken Pasta

Spring Roll

Recipe Source: Amma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20-30 mins

Cooking Time: 45 mins

I Used:

Chicken	-	750 gm
Coconut Oil	-	2-3 tbsp
Onion	-	3 nos - medium sized (2 chopped & 1 for grinding)
Tomato	-	2  - medium sized
Ginger	-	A fat 2 inch piece
Garlic	-	15-20 nos (medium sized)
Green Chilly	-	2 nos - slit
Red Chilly powder	-	2 tbsp
Coriander powder	-	1 tbsp
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Garam Masala	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	As Needed
Curry leaves	-	2-3 sprigs
Coriander leaves Water	- -	2-3 sprigs As Needed (½-1 cup)

The Way:

1. Clean the chicken and cut them into small bite size pieces. Cutting the chicken into small 2 inch size pieces makes it easier for the gravy and masala to sink in to the pieces and make them more succulent 

2. In a mixie jar, take the peeled ginger (15-20 medium sized ones), garlic (A fat 2 inch piece) and onion (1 no - cut into 8-12 chunks) and grind them to a smooth paste. If needed you can add 2-3 tbsp of water for grinding. Keep aside

3. Heat 2-3 tbsp of coconut oil in a pan/kadai. When the oil is hot, reduce the flame and add the 2 medium sized onions (finely chopped) along with 2 slit green chillies. Saute them well on medium flame till the onions turn translucent. You can add salt as well while sauteing the onions to help them cook faster

4. Now once the onions are translucent, add the ground onion paste to it and saute on a low flame till they start to turn brown. Keep sauteing occasionally else they might get burnt

5. Once the gravy starts to turn brown add the masalas - 2 tbsp red chilly powder, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala and ½ tsp turmeric powder and saute well again. Keep sauteing for another 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of the masala goes

6. Meanwhile, roughly chop 2 medium sized tomatoes and add them to the mixer jar. Grind them to a smooth paste

7. Once the raw smell of the masala goes off, add the pureed tomato to the gravy and saute well. Allow it to cook for 5-6 minutes on low flame and keep sauteing occasionally

8. Then add the cleaned chicken pieces and give a nice stir. Add the required amount of water for your gravy and also 1 sprig of curry leaves. Keep in mind that the chicken will ooze water while cooking, so adjust the quantity of water accordingly

9. Cover the pan/kadai and cook in medium-low flame for 15-20 minutes till the chicken pieces and cooked tender. Keep stirring occasionally to avoid the gravy getting stuck to the bottom of the pan and getting burnt

10. Once the hicken is cooked, uncover the pan and add the remaining 1 sprig of curry leaves and 2-3 sprigs coriander leaves. Give a quick saute

Switch off the flame and serve the gravy hot with steamed rice / chapathi / porotta / appam / dosa / idly / idiyappam / puttu / ghee rice / coconut milk rice of your choice !

Cheers,
Chitz

Cherupayar Curry | Green Gram Gravy | Easy Side dish for Puttu

Since I talked quite a lot in my last post, I am in a mood for less talk and more business now ;) So what I am bringing to you today is a very easy side dish for the Puttu, the green gram gravy or the Cherupayar Curry. It is so easy that my entire preparation of puttu and this cherupayar gravy will be ready in less than 45 minutes. And since it is a legume it is quite healthy and makes the puttu-cherupayar combo a wholesome meal giving you carbs as well as protein. The only thing that will consume your time will be grating the coconut. If you have that handy then the rest is a breeze. So shall we see how to make this yummy gravy.. 

 

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

 

Serves : 2-3 persons

I Used:

Cherupayar/Green Gram	-	½ cup
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed
Curry leaves	-	2 sprigs

To Grind:

Grated Coconut	-	½ cup
Cumin Seeds	-	½ tsp
Green Chilly	-	2 nos - slit

To Temper:

Coconut Oil	-	1 tbsp
Shallots	-	6-8 nos - sliced

The Way:

1. Rinse the green gram in water 2-3 times. Then take them in a pressure cooker. Add enough water (around 2-2.5 cups) and salt. Pressure cook them till done. I keep 2-3 whistles in high and 8-10 whistles in sim flame

2. The green gram should be cooked till they turn soft and mushy. If you want to reduce the cooking time then soak the green gram in water overnight or for 3 hours before cooking

3. While the green gram is getting cooked, grind together the grated coconut, green chillies & cumin seeds to a smooth paste along with little water

4. Once the green gram is cooked, allow the pressure to release naturally. Then add the ground paste and turmeric powder and give a nice stir

5. Allow them to cook on simmer for 3-4 minutes till they come together and then switch off the flame

6. Now in another tadka/small pan, heat coconut oil. Add the sliced shallots. Reduce the flame and saute them till they change colour to golden brown. Take care that they are not burnt

7. Once they change colour, switch off flame and add them to the green gram gravy. Add the curry leaves and give a gentle stir

Serve hot with Puttu !

Cheers,

Chitz

Nadan Chicken Curry - Kerala Style without coconut - Type 1

Chicken cooked in onion, tomatoes & dry roasted Indian spices

All those regular readers of mine would know my love for chicken & how I love to prepare chicken dishes ! So here I am back with a basic & simple chicken recipe. This one is very easy to prepare, do not be taken aback with the number of steps, it's just a pinch of this & a handful of that from your masala dabbas/pantry & voila, you are left with a very flavorful & aromatic side dish that will definitely elevate your mild flavored rice or simple phulkas & leave you contented :) 

This is a personal favorite at home & Deeps loves to prepare this by himself, so as usual, I'm the happy apprentice then. This time we paired it up with 'Nei Choru' & we lost count of how many helpings we took while having lunch with one of our favorite 'House' series on ;) This is just one of the types in which Nadan chicken curry is made at our place. There are many variations to this which I will post in the future. So this time, try this out & let me know how you liked it :)

Other Chicken recipes:

Chettinadu Kozhi Kulambu
Chicken Masaledar | Spicy Chicken Masala

Coorgi Style Chicken Curry

Mughlai Chicken

Baked Chicken Pasta

Spring Roll

Recipe Source: Deeps

 

I Took:

Marination: 30 minutes

Preparation: 40 minutes

 

Serves : 3-4 persons

I Used:

 

For Marination:

Chicken	-	500 gm
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As needed
Lemon juice	-	½ of a small sized lemon

To Roast & Grind:

Red Chilly	-	4 nos
Coriander Seeds	-	1 tsp
Mustard	-	¼ tsp
Cumin seeds	-	½ tsp
Pepper	-	½ tsp
Cinnamon	-	1 inch piece
Cloves	-	2 nos
Cardamom	-	1 no
Star Anise	-	1 no
Bay leaf	-	1 no

For Gravy:

Onion - 4-5 medium sized (sliced) Tomato - 2 medium sized (sliced) Green Chilly - 2 nos Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tbsp Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - ½ tsp Curd - 2 tbsp (optional) Coriander leaves - 2 sprig Curry leaves - 2 sprig Salt - As needed Oil - As needed Water - As needed

To Temper: (optional)

Oil  - 2 tbsp Garlic - 1 pod Pepper - 1 tsp

The Way:

1. Dry roast the ingredients under 'To roast & grind' in a pan. Add little water to it & grind  it to a fine paste

2. Marinate the cleaned & cut chicken pieces with the ingredients under 'For Marination' &  keep aside for 30 minutes

3. In a kadai, heat oil. Add the sliced onions & salt & saute well. The taste of this dish depends on how well you saute the onions. This is the key step & it may take you around 10-12 minutes. Keep sauteing occasionally till it reduces to half & becomes mushy. You can cover & cook as well in between

4. Once the the onions are nicely sauteed, add the sliced tomatoes & slit green chillies & saute well till the tomatoes becomes mushy

5. Now add the ginger-garlic paste & saute till the raw smell goes off. This may take around 2-3 minutes

6. Now add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder & saute well for about a minute or two

7. Dunk in the marinated chicken pieces & give a nice stir. Close the kadai & cook in a medium/low flame till the chicken pieces become soft & are half-cooked. This takes about another 10 minutes

8. Now uncover the kadai & you can see that the chicken has let out some water. At this stage add the ground paste & sufficient water (if required) to bring it to the consistency for the gravy that you require. Close the kadai & cook again till the chicken is done

9. Now add in curd & give a stir. This step is totally optional. We like to add curd as it brings a tangy zing to the gravy which enhances the flavour of the dish

10. Add in the chopped coriander leaves & curry leaves & give a stir. Leave it in medium flame for another 30-60 seconds for the flavour of the leaves to sink in

11. Now for the tempering, heat oil in a kadai & fry the garlic pods & pepper separately

12. The garlic pods should slightly change colour & the pepper should just start to crackle. This tempering is also totally optional. We add it as Deeps like the crunch that the tempering adds to the gravy

You can serve hot with Nei Choru / Coconut Milk Rice / Roti / Idiyappam / Appam / Porotta / Chiratta Puttu / Puttu or any mild flavoured rice !

Cheers,

Chitz

Kerala Style Kadala curry | Black Chickpeas Curry | Kala Channa Gravy

Black Chickpeas cooked in ground coconut & shallots paste

This is an easy peasy side dish for the chiratta puttu or normal puttu. This is the popular side dish for puttu. Not much of ingredients or elaborate process. Pressure cook the chickpeas & side by side prepare the ground paste and the whole dish will be complete in less than half an hour. Yummy tasty gravy ready for the puttu !! So without much story, diving into the recipe straight :)

Recipe from Deeps:

Yields : For 2 persons

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Black Chickpeas	-	½ cup
Grated Coconut	-	¼ cup
Shallots Garlic	- -	5-6 nos 3-4 nos
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder Garam Masala	- -	2 tsp ½ tsp
Salt	-	As Needed
Oil	-	1 tbsp
Curry leaves	-	A sprig

The Way:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in water

2. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in water & boil it in pressure cooker & keep aside

3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add grated coconut & 5 shallots and saute

4. When they start to turn a little golden color add the red chilly powder & coriander powder and saute for about 30 seconds and remove from flame, else it will burn

5. Grind the roasted ingredients to a fine paste

6. In a pan, take the boiled chickpeas (along with the water used to boil) and add the ground paste and salt to it. Allow it to come to a boil

7. Take a tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 chopped shallot & the curry leaves to it. When the shallots turn brown, add them to the chickpeas curry

Serve hot with puttu/idiyyapam.

Cheers,

Chitz