Kozhi Mulakittathu – Kerala Chicken Curry with Chili

It may seem to you that someone has given me kai vesham in chicken, given the number of chicken posts I have here. In my defense, I have a dinner of pureed vegetables every weeknight. ( Pureed vegetables make my new crash diet plan. I have tried everything from the popular GM diet to starving myself, none of which has worked, but I won’t loose hope). As you can imagine, this is a dinner that most people like to keep away from. In fact, my parents refuse to even sample the “soup”; when I offered to share, they had an expression of shock that would have looked appropriate on Satan confronted with a Crucifix.

Anyway, my point is, after all the boiled carrot and cabbage (that my parents find revolting), I need that lovely drumstick in hand to keep me alive. After subjecting myself to five days of torture, I need to indulge in my fried and curried feathery friends. It may be akin to ordering Diet Coke alongside a double burger and extra large fries, but it somehow makes me feel less guilty. So my dear vegetarian friends, in the rare possibility that you are reading this, do forgive me for another chicken recipe. Non vegetarians, I know you are loving this!

Kozhi Mulakittathu roughly translates to Chicken with Chili. Quite a misleading name, because unlike most chicken curries from Kerala because this one is not a very hot curry. It has a lot of onions and coriander in it, and perhaps that makes it slightly sweet. Splatter your rice with some of that red sauce and you will thank me for one delicious meal.

• Servings: 4-serving
• Time: 40 mins
• Difficulty: medium
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Summary

• Cuisine: south indian
• Course: main course
• Cooking Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

1 kg Chicken – skinned and cut into pieces ,

8 tablespoons oil , preferably coconut oil

4 onions , sliced thin and long

1 tablespoon ginger and garlic , each

6 green chilies , sliced

3 tablespoons red chili powder

3 tablespoons coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper powder

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds , crushed lightly

1 teaspoon fennel seeds , crushed lightly

8 shallots , sliced

To taste, salt

handfull chopped coriander leaves

10 chopped curry leaves

Steps

1. Crush ginger and garlic using mortar and pestle. Heat oil in a large pot or pan. Fry onions, ginger, garlic and chilies on medium flame till onions start to brown slightly. This should take a little above 12 minutes.
2. To the onions, add chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, pepper powder, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds and shallots and saute for a couple of minutes on low flame. Add a splash of water and cover and cook for two more minutes. Add chicken and salt and mix well. Cover and cook till chicken is done. If you find the sauce to be too runny, boil over high heat without the lid on to thicken it. Adjust seasoning.
3. Sprinkle over chopped coriander and curry leaves and mix through. Serve hot with plain rice, ghee rice or flat bread.