CHICKEN PEPPER CURRY

     Indian curries are usually a house of flavors with a lot of spices and herbs. This curry is no exception. The authenticity of this chicken curry lies in the roasting and grinding part. Not only that, the spices added in for seasoning makes the whole dish aromatic...The dish is supposed to be had with steamed rice.. but it tastes equally good with rotis (indian flat bread), idlis (indian savory rice cake) and dosas (indian pancakes) too..

             In India, Chicken has its own popularity, be it the amritsari murgh makhani (amritsar's butter chicken) of punjab or the chettinad kozhi kuzhambu (chicken curry prepared with freshly grounded masalas) of chettinad cuisine. They have their own place in Indian palates. The list is incomplete without hyderabadi chicken biriyani (prepared on a low flame under pressure...there are a lot of varieties of biriyani too), theekha murgh (spicy hot chicken), shahi murgh (this dish is prepared with chicken cooked in cashew sauce... some recipes even call for raisins, yogurt etc to make it extremely rich), kadaai chicken (literally means chicken on wok/kadaai) and kerala chicken roast (a recipe from 'the god's own country', kerala). 

Coming to the health part, if chicken is consumed in moderate amounts they are a kind of wonder that can punch in vitamins n minerals like selenium, vitamin B3 n B6. They are a good source of protein and comes under lean meat category. Using skinless chicken would provide you with all essential amino acids and also has low saturated fat.


Ingredients in other languages (Source - internet and google translate)

1. Chicken - murgha or murgh in hindi, kozhi in tamil, kozhi in malayalam and kodi in telugu.

2. Onion - Pyaaz in hindi, vengaayam in tamil, savala or ulli in malayalam and ullipayalu or nirulli in telugu.

3. Tomato - tamaatar in hindi, thakkali in tamil, thakkali in malayalam and ramamulaga kaya in telugu.

4. Ginger - Adarak in hindi, inji in tamil, inchi in malayalam and allam or sonthi in telugu.

5. Garlic - lehsun in hindi, poondu in tamil, veluthulli or vellulli in malayalam and vellulli payalu or tellapayalu or velli paya in telugu

6. Coriander powder - dhaniya in hindi, malli thool in tamil, malli podi in malayalam and dhaniyalu in telugu.

7. Red chilly powder - Lal mirch powder in hindi, thani milagai thool in tamil, mulagu podi in malayalam and endu mirapakayalu in telugu.

8. Turmeric powder - Haldi in hindi, manjal thool in tamil, manja podi in malayalam and pasupu in telugu.

9. Salt - Namak in hindi, uppu in tamil, malayalam and telugu.

10. Oil - Thel in hindi, ennai in tamil, enna in malayalam and nuna or nune in telugu.

11. Bay leaf - Tej patta in hindi, Brinji ilai in tamil, karuva ela in malayalam and biriyani aaku or dhalchichecka in telugu.

12. Clove - Laung in hindi, lavangam or kraambu in tamil, karayaamboovu in malayalam or graambu in malayalam and lavangaalu in telugu

13. Cinnamon - Dalchini in hindi, Pattai in tamil , karuvapatta in malayala and dalchini or lavangapatta in telugu.

14. Fennel seeds - Saunf in hindi, sombu or perun-jeeragam in tamil, perunjeerakam in malayalam and pedha-jeelakarra in telugu.

15. Peppercorns - Kali mirch in hindi, milagu in tamil, kuru mulaku in malayalam and miriyaalu in telugu.

16. Curry leaves - Kadi pattha in hindi, karivepillai in tamil, karivepilla in malayalam and karivepaku in telugu.

17. Coconut - Naariyal in hindi, thengai in tamil, thenga in malayalam and kobbari in telugu.

18. Poppy seeds - Khus khus in hindi, kasa kasa in tamil, kus kus in malayalam and gasagasaalu in telugu.

19. Mint leaves - Pudhina in hindi, tamil, malayalam and telugu.

20. Coriander leaves  (or cilantro) - dhaniya patha in hindi, kothamalli thazai in tamil, kothamalli ila in malayalam and kothimeera or kothamalli kooraku in telugu.

21. Curd - Dahi in hindi, thayir in tamil, thayer in malayalam and perugu in telugu.

22. Lime - Nimbu or neembu in hindi, elumichhai in tamil, cheru naaranga in malayalam and nimmakaaya in telugu.

23. Garam masala - It is a mixture of many spices like cumin, bay leaves, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper and dry ginger. Its called garam masala in hindi, tamil, malayalam and telugu too.

CHICKEN PEPPER CURRY RECIPE

Cuisine - Indian
Category - Main/ curry

Preparation time - 15 minutes, marinating time - 1 hour

Cooking time - 50 to 55 minutes

Yields - 3 servings

INGREDIENTS

Chicken - 450g / 1 lb (prefarably skinless)

Onion (finely chopped) - 1 large (about a cup of chopped onion)

Tomato(chopped) - 2 medium sized (about 3/4 cup of chopped tomatoes)

Ginger n garlic (whipped or hand crushed with a mortar-pestle) - 1 tablespoon

Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon

Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - as required

FOR SEASONING

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Bay leaves - 1

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 1 inch

Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Peppercorns -8 to 10 pods

Curry leaves - 1 sprig ( finely chopped so that they are not left behind)

FOR ROASTING AND GRINDING

Coconut( scraped or chopped) - 2 tablespoons

Peppercorns - 1/2 teaspoon

Fennel seeds - 1 teaspoon

Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon

Mint leaves - handful

FOR GARNISHING

Coarsely crushed pepper - a teaspoon (or as per taste)

Finely chopped coriander leaves - A few stalks

FOR MARINATION
Curd - 2 tablespoons or lime juice - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Ginger-garlic paste - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1/4 teaspoon

METHOD

1. Wash chicken thoroughly, cut and marinate chicken with ingredients given under ' FOR MARINARTION' for atleast an hour.
2. Heat oil in a wok and add all the ingredients listed under ' FOR SEASONING ' . Saute them for a while and add chopped onions. Saute onion till they are brown and add the crushed ginger- garlic to it  and saute for a minute, just till raw smell leaves.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes to it and cook covered till mushy. Keep cooking till the oil oozes out.

4. At this stage, add chicken followed by coriander powder, chilly powder, salt and turmeric powder. Blend them together such that the spices coats the chicken pieces well. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes till the oil starts to leave the sides of pan.
5. Now add a cup of water and allow it to boil in a medium flame. Leave it partially covered.

6. Meanwhile, dry roast the ingredients given under ' FOR ROASTING AND GRINDING' except mint leaves. Let it cool.

7. Now, grind the roasted ingredients and mint leaves to a fine paste. Add necessary water.

8. Add this paste when the chicken is all tender and fully cooked. Let it cook for 5 more minutes. Now turn off the stove.

9. Transfer it to a serving bowl and garnish with the crushed pepper and coriander leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice, dosai or roti varieties.

NOTES
1. Mint leaves can be added with the onion or with the grounded paste.
2. If you cannot marinate for an hour, marinate the chicken and keep it in freezer for atleast 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Adjust red chilly powder as per your spice level, since we are adding pepper too.