Chicken curry - Pollachi style

“It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it… and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied… and it is all one.”
― M.F.K. Fisher, The Art of Eating


Though I have spent a considerable part of my life in Tamilnadu, I have never been interested in Tamil cuisine. This could be because of the fact that I was a fussy eater growing up and anything to do with food never interested me. Even Amma stayed away from experimenting much and played it safe with just the sambar and rasam. I am not sure if it was intentional, her curries always had her distinct style. So, we never got to have authentic Tamil food, the only exception being Sambar.

In initial days of college life, my food experiments were limited to hostel and restaurant food. Again, I just wanted to eat something. No craving for anything in particular. But then, the hostel food has a way of making you pine for food like you never knew before. And my hostel excelled in that department. So, here I was actually feeling hungry and wanting to eat something. A whiff of aroma and I would want to go home to Amma's table. I had a list of things to eat every time I went home.

There were times when I really wanted to go but did not get to, and that's when the hunger pangs grew excruciatingly painful. And all we had to put up with was some restaurant food. On such days (let's be specific and say such weekends), was when the people in the whole town and the house ( Where my friends and I stayed on rent) choose to cook their Sunday best. We always woke up to the smell of mutton curry gloriously boiling away, unaware of the hungry stomachs growling right below.( Ok, that does not sound right. Our house owner lived on the top floor and we right below.) Now, we were a bunch of girls who kept to ourselves. But on Sundays, we made all the effort to be extra friendly. Soon we realized, that Sunday mornings, when the lady of the house is toiling away to show off her culinary skills is the wrong time to forge friendships. After years of effort, some obvious and some sly, we finally were invited for breakfast. Breakfast? You ask. We were a shameless bunch.

Now, the curry far exceeded our veneration of the aroma and I have never ever, to this day, had such a curry again. I have, on multiple occasions had mutton and chicken curries in restaurants, but nothing ever came close to that curry. Thus began my fascination for Tamil Nadu style non-veg curries.  I must specify that I was looking for curries made by home cooks. Anytime I come across Tamil cuisine I try it hoping it's anywhere close to the curry I so want it to be. Today's recipe is one such I came across while I was on my hunt. It did not turn out the way I wanted but I did enjoy the flavor.  And my kids loved it. So, that is a big win.

 As for my phenomenal curry, the search is still on. Till then, here's hoping that every curry I find, cook and like is a means to a lovely end.

Ingredients : 

Tomatoes - 3 Large - chopped long
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 Tsp.
Chicken - 1/2 Kg
Green Chilli - 1 or 2 ( adjust as per your spice level tolerance) 
Salt to taste.
Curry Leaves - 1 spring
Coriander Leaves for garnish
Sesame Oil to sauté the chicken

To sauté and grind :

Cinnamon - 2 Inch stick
Cloves - 4
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds  - 1 tsp.
Peppercorns - 1 tsp.

Dry red Chillies - 2 long
Garlic - 6 cloves

Ginger - I inch
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Shallots - 1 Cup 

Coriander seeds - 1 1/4 Tbsp. 
Coconut grated - 3 Tbsp.

How to cook the curry :  

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add the cinnamon, cloves, Fennel seeds, Cumin seeds, Peppercorns. Sauté for a minute till the spices release the aroma.

2. To this add the Shallots, Ginger, Garlic, Red Chillies and Curry Leaves. Add the coriander seeds.

Sauté them well till they turn brown. Make sure you do not burn the coriander seeds. 

3. Allow this mixture to cool down, add the grated coconut and then grind this in to a fine paste.

4. Heat a large pan. Add Sesame oil and add the tomatoes. Sauté well till the tomatoes turn mushy.

5. Add the chicken pieces. Sauté well. Add the green Chillies, Turmeric powder, Curry Leaves and salt. Mix well. 

6. The chicken will release water in a while. Once it does, add the ground masala. Mix well so that the chicken is covered in the masala. Stir well to mix. Cook till the raw taste of the masala wears off.

7. Now reduce the heat to low, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook the chicken curry till the chicken is done. Do keep an eye and stir once in a while so that the masala does not burn. 

8.  Switch off once the chicken is cooked and the gravy is of the desired consistency. 

9. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot. 

Notes :

1. You can pressure cook the curry if you are short of time. The steps are similar. Just use the cooker instead of the pan as mentioned in step 4. Pressure cook the chicken for 3 whistles adding very less water.

2. I always use the open pan method for all the meat dishes. Well, you heard it right. I get that look from almost everyone I share that statement with. Meat cooked on low heat for longer duration is how meat was supposed to be cooked. Pressure cooking takes the flavor out of the meat. This is my one hard rule to an otherwise carefree attitude while cooking. So I had to say it here.

Recipe Source : From here.