Chettinattu Kozhi Kuzhambu ( chettinad chicken gravy(without cocunut) ) Chicken gravy is one item which can be used as a side

dish for many food items l ike chapati, roti, nan, idly or dosa.It will be excellent for rice also. But man y of us now don't want to use coconut to make gravy since we grow calorie consci ous day by day. Moreover the food items using coconut will not stay good for lon g. and cannot be stored for a longer period. chettinad dishes usually dont conta in too much of coconut.They make tasty gravy without using much coconut. This recipe of chicken gravy will give you the gravy needed without the use of c oconut.Before leaving US I wanted to freeze some food . I did not want to use co conut for freezing. I followed this recipe and the gravy turned out awesome. I c ome to know that every time they thaw the frozen gravy, It is fresh and good. For chicken gravy it is always better to use fresh chicken and not the frozen on e that people in US get from the stores. When I was there my son-in-law used to get chicken from local Halal shop which was good like the one we get in India. T hose who stay abroad can try getting fresh chicken like this if there is a chanc e to do so. Ingredients chicken -2 pounds or 750 gms small onion-20 or chopped big onion-1 tomato-1 medium size Garlic-10 pods Mint leaf-little (if you have stock) curry leaf-little Tamarind paste -1 teaspoon Coriander leaves- a bunch (for garnishing) For marination Kuzhambu milagai thool-1 tablespoon or chili powder-2 teaspoon Coriander powder-1 table spoon Thick curd-1 tablespoon turmeric powder-1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste-2 teaspoons salt-1 table spoon (as needed) Masal for grinding Big onion-2 (US onion-2 Indian-4) Tomato-2 (Us tomato-2 Indian-4) green chili-2 Cashews-8 Kas kas- 1 teaspoon or pottukadalai-1 tablespoon Cinnamon-1 small piece clove-2 fennel seeds-1 teaspoon For seasoning fennel seeds-1 teaspoon mint leaf,curry leaf -little (if you have stock) Cinnamon-small piece bay leaf-small piece clove-2 Cinnamon- a small piece Method cut the chicken into small pieces,wash well and marinate with the item given in for marination and keep aside for an hour. If you cant wait no problem you can s tart cooking within 20 minutes. Keep a kadai in the stove. In one teaspoon of oil saute the items for the masal. First add the chili,then cashews, fennel seeds and kas kas , and wait till they turn little red. Now add the onion and then tomato pieces and saute well for 5 t o 6 minutes. Allow it to cool and then grind it to a smooth paste in a mixi. Keep the cooker in the stove.In one table spoon of oil season the chicken gravy

with the items given in'to season'. saute the small onion or the chopped big oni on and tomato. Add the marinated chicken pieces also and saute well for 5 minute s. Add 3 cups of water . Mix everything well and cook in medium fire for 7 to 10 minutes (cooking time depends on the chicken quality and the fitness of the coo ker you use). however don't cook for more than 10 minutes. open the cooker once the pressure goes and add the grinded masal along with the tamarind paste and al low the gravy to boil for 5 minutes. check for the taste.I f anything is missing you can add now.The cashews and the kas kas or pottukadalai in the masal will m ake the gravy thicker as it boils. Switch off the stove and garnish with coriand er leaves (don't add coriander leaves if you intend to freeze the gravy).Coriand er leaves will add much taste to the gravy. Those who don't want the gravy to ha ve any sourness,tamarind can be avoided.But tamarind will help the gravy to stay fresh for a longer time. little bit tamarind is enough.

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1kg Chicken 2 tsp Poppy seeds 1/2 Grated coconut 1 tsp Fennel seeds 1 tsp Coriander seeds 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 6-8 no. Whole red chilies 1" stick Cinnamon 3 no. Green cardamom 2 no. Cloves 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 1 no. Onion, large 2 tsp Ginger, chopped 2 tsp Garlic, chopped 1/2 Star anise 1 tsp Red chili powder 3 no. Tomatoes, medium 1 no. Lemon 10-12 no. Curry leaves Fresh coriander Garnish. 1/2 cup Oil Salt To Taste How to make chicken chettinad: Clean the chicken, remove the skin and cut into small pieces. Chop the onions and tomatoes separately. Roast the whole red chilies, grated coconut, poppy seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds in oil and gr ind to a paste for 20mts along with ginger and garlic. Heat oil in a vessel and fry the onions till golden, then add curry leaves and t he ground paste and saut for some time. Add the tomatoes, red chili powder and turmeric powder and saut. Add the chicken, mix and cook for 5 minutes and then add 2 cups of water and lem on juice. Cover and cook till the chicken is done. Serve chicken chettinad hot garnished with coriander leaves and accompanied with boiled rice, rotis or tandoori naan .

================================================================================ =================== Chettinad Chicken Gravy 11/02/2011 UMA 33 COMMENTS I started to cook egg, chicken and seafood recipes only few months back. Till no w, I feel it is a challenging job and I am posting each recipe based on the husb and's feedback. He is the one who guides me to prepare this or that when it com es to non-veg food. A month ago, he asked me to prepare a chicken gravy in chett inad style, I enquired few of my friends and some cook books. After experimentin g few recipes, he liked this one from sailu's kitchen. Now it has become one of the repeated non-veg recipes at my home. Basic Information: Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients: For Gravy: Chicken - 1/2-3/4 kg , washed Shallots/Red onion - 1 cup, sliced Tomato - 1 cup, sliced Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon Curry leaves - 1 string Coconut Milk - 1 cup (I used canned coconut milk) Salt - to taste Oil - 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves - for garnishing For Masala: Black Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds - 3/4 teaspoon Coriander seeds - 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Dry red chillies - 6 nos Cardamoms - 2 no Cinnamon - 1 inch length Curry leaves - 1 string For Paste: Green Chillies - 3 nos Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger - 1 inch piece Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon (Soak in 1 tablespoon warm water for 10 minutes)

Method: 1) Dry roast the ingredients given 'For Masala' for 2-3 minutes and grind it to

a powder when it comes to room temperature. Keep aside.

2) Make a paste of all the ingredients given 'For Paste'. Keep aside.

3) Heat Oil in a pressure cooker. Add onions and curry leaves. Saute them till o nions get soft.

4) Add paste(as said in step 2) and saute for a minutes.

5) Add chicken pieces, cover and cook for 5-7 minutes. Chicken will leave out so me water now while cooking. Stir in between for proper cooking.

6) Add tomato, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well and reduce the flame to low an d cook the chicken for another 5-7 minutes, uncovered.

7) When you see the chicken is 3/4th cooked, add the coconut milk. Mix well.

8) Close the pressure cooker with lid and cook for 5 more minutes or cook for a whistle. 9) Now, open the lid and add the masala powder (as said in step 1). In a medium flame cook for some time.

10) Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.

Note: 1) If you are going to cook more than the given quantity here, cook first 1-7 st eps in a wide pan and then transfer the content to a pressure cooker to proceed with the remaining step for easy handling. 2) Adjust dry red chilli, green chilli, black pepper quantity according to your taste. 3) I used 5 chicken drumstick pieces to cook this gravy. 4) No need to add water for the gravy. Coconut milk is alone enough.