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.
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 is a spicy and delicious chicken dish from Chettinad, a region in Southern India known for their fiery meat dishes especially
Ingredients
- 250 gm boneless chicken pieces, cubed
- A fistful of curry leaves
- 2 tbsp oil (I used coconut oil)
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, saunf (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated or finely chopped
- 1 cup onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup of cubed tomato or 1 tsp tomato paste
Spices
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1–2 dry red chillies (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp 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.
2. Cool and pound coarsely in a pestle or mortar or using a spice/coffee grinder.
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…
… and then add the ginger, garlic, onions, and curry leaves.
4. Saute until the onions are soft and then add the tomatoes or tomato paste. Mix well.
5. Now add the chicken pieces and stir well to coat them with the spices.
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.
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.
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
Prada says
May 20, 2018 at 6:35 amIt was delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
nags says
May 28, 2018 at 10:42 amchettinad pepper chicken is one of my favourites too!
Brad H. says
May 3, 2018 at 10:50 amCurious if there’s any chance you’d consider posting how to make this a larger recipe? I doubled everything and there’s WAY too much water. Thanks!
nags says
May 28, 2018 at 1:28 pmhey brad, use the same amount of water, just double all other ingredients. the meat gives out water and that should be more than enough to make the dish just right. Let me know how that goes!
Rajesh n rathod says
July 4, 2017 at 12:23 amAll recipes are tried & tested & were yummy n delicious , keep sending all old n new recipes
SUDHARSHAN says
June 4, 2017 at 2:24 pmthanks for this awesome recipe, i tried it, it was awsome, thanks for this delicious recipe
“I LOVED IT!!!”
Adi says
May 9, 2017 at 10:38 pmHi!
First of all thanks for such an amazing recipe ! It came out really well when I used 250 gms chicken. But yesterday I tried with 1 kg chicken and added 4 times the ingredients mentioned in the recipe and the flavor was too strong .. Not sure how much spices I should use if I am cooking in bulk for my friends and family as multiplying the ingredients based on the amount of chicken used, failed for me. Any suggestions ?
★★★★★
nags says
June 9, 2017 at 9:05 pmah yes, i would start by doubling the spices for 4x chicken because these spices tend to be quite intense. sorry it went wrong the first time but do try again and add less in the beginning. you can always top up if needed
Sindy says
January 29, 2017 at 11:40 pmHonestly I have never posted a comment for a recipe.. I cooked this with sunflower oil still the taste was amazing. Thanks for sharing 😍
★★★★★
nags says
February 7, 2017 at 7:29 pmaww thanks Sindy!
Jaspreet says
July 17, 2016 at 1:41 pmHi nags
I just had a craving for South Indian food and this recipe saved my day ! As a Singaporean living in Perth, I find it hard to get good South Indian food so thank you for this wonderful recipe. Bet that I will be following your blog from now on. Keep up the good work 🙂
★★★★★
nags says
July 20, 2016 at 9:58 amthank you so much jaspreet 🙂 glad you enjoyed the recipe
H Dev says
June 17, 2016 at 8:19 amTurned out slightly sweetish and the ground Cinnamon felt like a layer of finely powdered wood. I think that 3″ of Cinnamon versus just 1 tsp of Pepper needs to be reconsidered.
Anyway I remain your loyal fan. 😃
★★
nags says
June 19, 2016 at 10:34 amhi there, thanks for leaving the note. i think the difference is in using the Indian cinnamon bark and powdering yourself versus using the readymade cinnamon powder which is sweeter and used mainly for baking. Indian cinnamon is not as sweet and has a rough and coarse texture. Of course, adjust all ingredients to your preference, more pepper if you like more spice 🙂
Anita says
May 11, 2016 at 4:22 pmWonderful recipe! Tried it today and it came out well.
★★★★★
nags says
May 20, 2016 at 2:11 pmthank you anita 🙂
i82much says
April 4, 2016 at 12:33 pmFantastic taste. So easy to cook. Whole wanted more only cooked enough for 4.
★★★★★
nags says
April 4, 2016 at 2:34 pmthank you!
Prathibha says
March 27, 2016 at 12:52 pmIt’s a awessom thanks for recipe
★★★
Sharmii says
March 13, 2016 at 2:51 pmNice recipe. Easy and fast to cook. I tried it out and turned out to be a super hit. Thanks
nags says
March 13, 2016 at 5:22 pmThank you Sharmii
Sathyan says
February 29, 2016 at 11:38 pmeasy steps and good recipe. I used to make pepper chicken but it never tasted this good. I never fried the spices before and that made the differences. wife devoured the entire chicken!.
whats your actual website?
★★★★★
nags says
March 4, 2016 at 10:54 amhmm.. this is my actual website! 🙂 thank you for the feedback on the pepper chicken
KK Patel says
February 29, 2016 at 6:36 pmVery tasty chicken. Enjoyed a lot. Must try to make once again and again more frequently as and when possible. Thanks for your recipe.
nags says
March 4, 2016 at 10:55 amthank you! really glad you enjoyed it
Shanaaz says
January 24, 2016 at 1:00 pmI made this today and it turned out very good! I used a whole chicken and I think I added a little bit more onions so it was sweet but had a peppery punch. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
nags says
January 25, 2016 at 10:10 amyum! thanks shanaaz
sheetal says
December 5, 2015 at 7:44 pmHey, tried this recipe today….not sure if i missed it out and probably a silly question….when do you add salt?
nags says
December 7, 2015 at 10:08 amhey sheetal, sorry for not mentioning it in the recipe, you can add it towards the end when the chicken has cooked
nithia kala says
December 5, 2015 at 3:55 pmthis pic is just make us feel tempting mam!!
great!! i am gonna to try this now specially for my bro!!
nags says
December 7, 2015 at 10:08 amlet me know if you try it nithia 🙂
deon says
December 11, 2015 at 9:41 pmhi im from cape town and whilst reading your mpouth watering yummy recipes im going to at least try one or two . im very impressed thank you…blessing to you and your family friends over the festive season
nags says
January 5, 2016 at 11:12 amThank you so much! have a wonderful new year