Kerala Coconut Chicken

- Serves 6

I first fell in love with this peppery coconut chicken recipe on my trip to beautiful Kerala. One spoonful of this deliciously hot and spicy sauce and I knew this was going to be one of the treasures in my cookbook “Curries for the Soul” . This recipe uses freshly roasted, ground spices which make it even more special, however if you don’t have access to a heavy-duty food processor, spice mill or coffee grinder, you can simply replace the whole spices with ground spices. Although this curry is best served with Appams, it also goes beautifully with steamed rice.

Ingredients for Kerala Coconut Chicken

3 tablespoons coriander seeds or 1.5 tablespoons coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (pound them in a mortar and pestle if you don't have a mill)
2 teaspoons black peppercorns or 1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
5 cm cinnamon stick
1.2kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 1" wide strips or 1 whole chicken, skinned and chopped into large chunks
15-20 curry leaves
150g onion, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 fresh chili, finely chopped
150g tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder, use less for mild curry
1.5 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
400g can coconut milk, open can and leave it to rest for 30 minutes in a warm place to separate
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
2 fresh red or green bird’s eye chilies - spilt in half lengthways, for garnish

Recipe

Grinding your own spice mix: Set a wok/wide heavy-base saucepan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and peppercorns, roast them for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Remove spices, leave them to cool slightly then grind them finely in a clean coffee-grinder/spice-grinder/heavy-duty food processor. Use pre-ground spices in case you don’t have a spice mill.
Open a can of coconut milk and set aside undisturbed in a warm corner of your kitchen for 30 minutes. In about 30 minutes, the coconut cream will rise to the top and light coconut milk will settle to the bottom. Follow the instructions in step 5 to skim coconut skim.
Heat oil in the same pan on medium flame. Add black mustard seeds and cinnamon. When mustard seeds begins to pop, place chicken in the pan, a few pieces at a time. Brown chicken in as many batches as necessary making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Set aside when slightly brown on both sides.
In the same pan, add curry leaves, onion, ginger, garlic, chopped chili. Stir and sauté until onions are slightly brown. Next add chopped tomatoes, stir and cook until tomatoes are soft. Turn the heat down, and add the roasted spice mix (coriander powder, fenugreek powder and ground black pepper), turmeric, chili powder, salt and lemon juice followed by seared chicken.
Skim thick coconut cream off the top of the can of coconut milk and set aside. Stir the remaining contents of the can. Add 1 cup water to fill the can again and pour it over chicken. Bring to the boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Stir in thick coconut cream and heat through. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and slit chilies. Serve hot with steamed rice or Appams.