Chettinad Pepper Chicken Masala, Spicy Chicken Recipes

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Chettinad pepper chicken masala: a spicy and delicious chicken recipe from Chettinad in South India. The fiery meat dishes in Chettinad are world-famous and this pepper chicken masala truly lives up to the Chettinad chicken recipes fame.

I'd shared a recipe for dry pepper chicken a while back but that's before I tried this much better variation recently. I have been out of blogging action for a while thanks to a lot of stuff happening in my life right now (mostly good folks, mostly good) but obviously I am still cooking and eating as much as before, if not more. This gorgeous pepper chicken happened one Sunday night for dinner which explains the otherwise inexplicable lighting situation going on in the first two pictures of the dish.

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Bloggers introduce their recipes with a dash of behind-the-scenes, what's going on in their lives, how they came to make this dish, etc. Sometimes we talk about how good it was and how everyone else must go ahead and make it. But anecdotes and stories that explain why others in their lives want repeats of a dish all the time are quite rare so when I saw Deepa talking about this Chettinad pepper chicken her husband loves, I knew I had to try it. This is the first time (I think) I used freshly ground spices to such great results and I don't know how I'll ever go back to my lazy self that just adds store-bought coriander powder, etc, to my dishes.

I have adapted the original recipe and increased the amount of spices to suit my taste buds so if you like your chicken dishes on the dry and greasy side with lots of kick and heat from spices, then drop everything now and go make this. Unless you are vegetarian, in which case, try it with potatoes or mushrooms. Obviously, you can control the grease by reducing the amount of oil but I strongly recommend going with the full amount listed below. Trust me on this.

Other chicken recipes that I absolutely love and make often for guests, especially:
Butter Chicken
Chicken Curry in Coconut Milk
Chilli Chicken
Kerala Chicken Curry
Pakistani Chicken Jalfrezi

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Chettinad Pepper Chicken Masala

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Chettinad pepper chicken masala is a spicy and delicious chicken dish from Chettinad, a region in Southern India known for their fiery meat dishes especially

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 2 -3

Ingredients

  

• 250 gm boneless chicken pieces cubed
• A fistful of curry leaves
• 2 tablespoon oil I used coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds saunf (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger grated or finely chopped
• 1 cup onions sliced
• ½ cup of cubed tomato or 1 teaspoon tomato paste

Spices

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1-2 dry red chillies adjust to taste
• 1 teaspoon whole black pepper adjust to taste
• 3 " piece of cinnamon
• 3 green cardamom pods

Instructions

 

• Dry-roast the spices in a skillet until they turn a shade darker and fragrant.
• Cool and pound coarsely in a pestle or mortar or using a spice/coffee grinder.
• Heat the oil in a wide pan and turn to low heat. Add the mustard seeds and fennel and then they sizzle and pop, add the ground spices, fry for 10 seconds until fragrant and then add the ginger, garlic, onions, and curry leaves.
• Fry until the onions are soft and then add the tomatoes or tomato paste. Mix well.
• Now add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spices.
• Add 1 cup of water, bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, and cook covered for about 15 mins or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
• You should uncover and stir in between every 3-4 mins to make sure nothing is burning. After about 15 mins, the gravy should be thick and the spices should be coating the chicken. If this is not the case, cook with the pan open for a few more minutes

Notes

If you want to double the recipe, add the same amount of water to cook and double all other ingredients.

Step by Step Chettinad Pepper Chicken Masala Recipe:

1. Dry-roast the spices (use the seeds from the cardamom pods) in a skillet until they turn a shade darker and fragrant.

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2. Cool and pound coarsely in a pestle or mortar or using a spice/coffee grinder.

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3. Heat the oil in a wide pan and turn to low heat. Add the mustard seeds and fennel and then they sizzle and pop, add the ground spices, fry for 10 seconds until fragrant...

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... and then add the ginger, garlic, onions, and curry leaves.

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4. Saute until the onions are soft and then add the tomatoes or tomato paste. Mix well.

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5. Now add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spices.

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6. Add 1 cup of water, bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, and cook covered for about 15 mins or until the chicken pieces are cooked through.

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You should uncover and stir in between every 3-4 mins to make sure nothing is burning. After about 15 mins, the gravy should be thick and the spices should be coating the chicken. If this is not the case, cook in the open pan for a few more minutes.

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All done! Serve hot as an appetizer, with rice, roti, dosa, chapatis, parotta, anything at all. This lip-smacking Chettinad pepper chicken masala goes with everything.

Notes:
- You can also use chicken pieces with bone, just cut into the size you desire and adjust cooking times accordingly
- I have a high spice and heat tolerance when it comes to meat dishes, so adjust your spice levels to your taste
- If you don't have curry leaves, please don't make this. Ok you can, but it won't taste as nice. Special thanks to Deepa for the fresh curry leaves from her mom's garden.

For Chettinad pepper chicken masala recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar