Kodi Iguru/Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Onions

This is going to be the last non-veg recipe till probably I go home on vacation. TH is a vegetarian so I will only be cooking veggie stuff in our kitchen here. This is actually a dish I made around two weeks before the wedding, meaning to dedicate the post to my ex-roomie Prathibha. She loves this chicken dish and I tried to duplicate it. It got lost in my drafts until recently when I came across this event featuring chicken as the star of the dish.

So here it goes, Kodi Iguru, for my friend Prathibha :)

What I Used:

serves 4

• Chicken - 1 kg, cleaned and cut into small pieces
• Onions - 4, sliced
• Tomatoes - 2, cubed
• Ginger - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
• Garlic - 5-6 cloves, minced

For the masala (powder coarsely together)

• Cinnamon – a 2” stick
• Cardamom – 3
• Cloves – 2
• Star anise – 3
• Dried red chillies – 6
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
• Powdered coriander seeds – 2 tsp

For tempering and garnishing

• Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
• Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves (optional)
• Oil – 4 tbsp

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and temper the mustard seeds. Then add the onions and curry leaves and fry till the onions turn a dark golden brown. I stop short of burning them, since I like the flavor better then.

2. Next add the ginger and garlic and fry for 10 seconds before adding the ground masala. This mixture needs to be fried for about 2 minutes. Add some oil at this stage if the masala looks too dry.

3. Add the tomatoes and chicken pieces next and stir well. Do NOT add any water. Keep the fire on sim and cook covered for about 15 minutes till the chicken is tender.

4. When you remove the cover, there will be some more water left in the pan. So cook with the cover open till its dry, the masala sticks to the chicken pieces and the oil separates. Keep stirring at this stage, without breaking the chicken pieces.

5. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

This is my entry to the ‘Chicken – My Favourite’ Event hosted by Vandana of Cooking Up Something Nice.