My Curry Tree and Chicken Chettinad

About a year ago I purchased a baby curry tree plant and it has since grown into this wonderful house plant! The curry tree is a tropical plant native to India and Sri Lanka. It's leaves are a common seasoning in southern and west-coast Indian cooking. The leaves have a unique aroma which is distinct to dishes from this part of the world. Not too many people have a tree at home, or in their garden, but the leaves can be found at any Indian grocery store if you want to prepare some of these special Indian dishes. The "curry leaf" should not be confused with "curry" or "curry powder". Curry powder is a blend of many spices which can be used to make a curry. Curry leaves just happen to have the same name and are found in curries!

Here you can see a close-up of the shiny dark green leaves. I love the fresh aroma when you pick them off the tree and fry them in oil to make a dish.

Below is a recipe I have developed on a dish from the southern part of India. It contains ground coconut, mustard seeds, coriander, fennel, and curry leaves! These are all very distinct flavors from this type of cuisine.

CHICKEN CHETTINAD

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. chicken

4 tbsp. coconut oil

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 inch piece of cinnamon

3 cloves

3/4 tsp. fennel seeds

3 cardamom pods (seeds taken out)

1/2 tsp. Kashmiri chili powder

1/2 cup grated coconut (can buy frozen)

2 tsp. coriander seeds

1 tsp. grated ginger

5 cloves garlic

1 large onion chopped

3/4 cup pureed tomato

10 - 12 curry leaves

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. mustard seeds

tbsp. lemon juice

salt to taste (about 1 tsp.)

Method:

1. Clean chicken and chop into one inch chunks. Boneless thighs are good for this dish.

2. Add cumin, cloves, cinnamon, fennel, cardamom, grated coconut , and coriander seeds to a pan and

saute until a nice aroma comes out and coconut is just lightly browned.

3. Add ginger and garlic toward the end and then grind all of it in a spice grinder.

4. Heat 4 tbsp. oil and fry chopped onion pieces. (Less oil can be used, but the flavor of this dish

is much better will a little more oil).

5. Sauté till they turn light brown.

6. Add curry leaves, turmeric pwd, salt, chili powder and ground coconut mixture.

7. Combine well and cook 2 mins.

8. Add tomato puree and stir well.

9. Allow to cook for 2 mins.

10. Now add chicken pieces and fry for a couple minutes.

11. Fry a tsp. of mustard seeds in a tsp. coconut oil until they pop. Add to the chicken.

12. Add 1 cup water and cook the chicken covered on medium heat.

13. Cook till chicken is tender.

14. Add lemon juice and stir.

15. Continue cooking uncovered until the gravy is of the desired thickness.

16. Ready to serve with white rice or any time of Indian flat bread!

#indian #chicken #curryleaf