Kerala Chicken Curry with Roasted Coconut (Varutharacha Chicken Curry)

Steps

1. Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces with the ingredients listed under marination. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

   

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add sliced shallots. Saute well until soft and then add grated coconut, red chili, and fennel seeds. Saute well until coconut turns golden brown. Switch off the stove. Transfer the roasted coconut mix into the blender or mixi bowl. Let it cool. Then add water, grind well and make a fine smooth paste.

   

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5. Slice onion into very small pieces so that it would be easy for it to get mashed into the gravy while chicken gets cooked. Dice tomatoes into small pieces.
6. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion, curry leaves and salt. Adding salt helps the onion to get cooked fast. Saute them until onion is soft and turns light brown.

   

7. Add ginger and garlic crushed or paste. Saute them well. Add extra oil as needed.

   

8. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and saute well. Add oil as needed to fry the masalas.

   

9. Add diced tomatoes. Mix it well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

   

10. Once tomatoes are cooked, add marinated chicken pieces. Stir till the pieces are well coated with the masala. Cover and cook until chicken is done. It will take around 20 minutes.

    

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12. Add the coconut paste, 1 cup water and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until it boils. Adjust salt in the gravy. Boil till the gravy is up to the consistency desired.

    

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14. Serve it with pathiri, any sort of rice variants ( ghee rice, pulao, normal rice) and any Indian breads ?