“Spicy Curry Leaves (Kadipatta / Karbev) Chicken Curry” …. A spicy rich textured gravy and an awesome aroma chicken curry with the added goodness of curry leaves ... We all know that curry leaves have lots of medicinal properties, is very good for health and equally delicious when added to dish. A perfect combination of chicken curry when served with batura, paratha, roti, naan, poori or pulav’s ….. Totally Yummy Yumz ….
** This is my very own new dish that I have just added to my list of chicken curries and I assure you it’s here to stay. Also now I assure you many more delicious recipes with the twist of addition of curry leaves powder to follow soon. There are many recipe’s that I keep browsing through net and my collection of books. But somehow, I always want something different, something that will set the taste buds tickling wanting for more. My mind is always on thinking mode for variations and adaptions. Most of the recipes are always adapted to my style and family preferences of cooking. So keeping that in mind I tried searching a few chicken recipes with curry leaves, but was not much satisfied.
** Again coconut is my weakness. I always add coconut paste to curries as I always feel that nothing beats the texture and taste that coconut imparts to a curry. Once a thought enters our minds, it lingers on till its accomplished. I am no different. This habit of mine made me think all through the night about how to go about the dish. By next morning I had framed somewhat a recipe in my mind and was waiting for dawn to start about my new dish. Now the dish is before you and I must say the curry has left me craving for more. I wanted to enjoy this dish at liesure so along with the same I prepared garlic methi pulav another favorite dish of mine as methi leaves were now in season. A delicious combination. But the curry will go well with any roti or naan too. I enjoyed it with plain roti the next day too.
** A Little Bit about Curry leaves : Curry leaves / Kadipatta / Karbev leaves are well known to all and I wont run into its details. It’s medicinal and nutritional value makes it important to be added to curries. Most South Indians add curry leaves in some form or the other into their daily diet. In Mumbai though we have access to curry leaves all round the year, sometimes it becomes difficult to just buy only curry leaves. I always buy curry leaves in bulk. Save some fresh and dry out the rest after cleaning in microwave. Then I grind it to fine powder form and store it in a box in the fridge. The colour and aroma remains intact for months together. However, it never remains that long as I always end up adding it to chutney while grinding. I am sharing the link of preparing the curry leaves powder before. In this Chicken Curry I have used that powder form of curry leaves and not the fresh ones. You may add fresh ones while grinding or choose to use my method, whichever is convenient to you.
** Ingredients :
Chicken : 500 gms boneless.
Onion : 3 large sized.
Coriander Leaves : Finely chopped for garnishing.
Oil : ½ Cup – ¾ Cup
Salt to taste
** For Chicken Marinade :
Haldi / Turmeri Powder : ½ tsp
Red Kashmiri Chilly Powder : ½ tsp
Salt : 1 tsp
Curds : 2 tblsp
** For Masala No. 1 to be ground :
Curry Leaves Powder : 2 tblps heaped
OR
Curry Leaves / Kadipatta / Karbev : 30
Coriander / Dhania Leaves : One cup (fresh leaves only)
Garlic Cloves / Losun 8-10
Ginger / Alle’ : 1 inch piece
Green Chillies : 4-5
** For Masala No. 2 to be ground :
Coconut : 1 cup freshly grated
Kashmiri Red Chillies : 8-10
Tamarind : small marble sized.
** Powder Spices :
Fennel Seeds / Saunf / Badisep Powder : 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder : 1tsp
Jeera / Cumin Powder : 1 tsp
Coriander / Dhania Powder : 2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder : 1 tsp
** Wash and clean boneless chicken pieces. Put them in a bowl and add in in all the ingredients under marinade and mix well along with the chicken pieces. Let the chicken get marinated in this for about an hour or so. Keep this ready aside.
** Peel off the onions and chop them finely into small pieces. Keep this ready aside.
** For Masala No. 1 to be ground : In a mixer grinder add in all the ingredients for masala no.1 to a smooth paste with little bit of water. The paste should be very fine. Do not add excess water. Keep this ready aside.
** Note : I have added curry leaves powder which I always prepare and keep as they come in handy for chutney etc. I wanted to experiment the curry with the powdered leaves and they tasted awesome. You may add in fresh leaves too, whichever is suitable and available or convenient for you.
** For Masala No. 2 to be ground : Add in the freshly grated coconut and red kashmiri chilly and grind to a smooth paste along with the tamarind adding as little water as possible. The masala should be smooth and fine.
** Note : I have added very little tamarind as we have added curds to the marinade of chicken too. So do not exceed the amount or tamarind or the curd in marinade or else you will get a little bit more tartness to the dish. So follow the measurement correctly.
** Heat ½ - 1 cup of oil in a thick bottomed kadai, when hot lower the heat to medium and add in finely chopped onions and fry till they turn brownish. Do not raise the heat, if you do see that you keep stirring the onions. They should be evenly browned and not burnt. If the onions get burnt then you will get a bitter smell for curry, so be careful.
** When the colour of the onion has turned brown add in all the powder under powder spices and further fry for a minute or two. Keep the heat low and do not burn the spices. If necessary sprinkle some water to avoid the masala getting burnt.
** Once the masala powders have blended in well with the onions add in the ground masala no.1 ie the curry leaves-coriander masala and mix well. Sprinkle some water only if necessary. Continue frying all the masalas together further for some more minutes.
** Now add in the 2nd ground masala ie coconut~red chilly masala and mix well. Fry this well till you see oil separating from the sides of the gravy. If need be you can add in some extra oil. But in no way exceed more than a ¾ cup of oil. You can sprinkle some ground masala water or plain water in between if you find masala drying or burning. Keep the heat low.
** Lastly, once all the masala’s have been fried well add in the marinated chicken pieces along with all the marinade, one cup of water and mix well. If you find the curry too dry only then add in some water. Cover and cook the chicken on low heat till chicken has almost cooked to 80%.
** Now add in salt to taste. Be careful when you add in salt as the chicken pieces when marinated have already been added with salt. So go easy on it, you can always add it later on if need be and cook till done. When the chicken gets completely cooked, garnish with coriander leaves and remove from fire and keep it aside covered for 30 mins for all flavours to seep in properly.
** “Spicy Curry Leaves (Kadipatta / Karbev) Chicken Curry” is done and ready to be served. This dish has got a rich textured gravy and an awesome aroma. Goes well with roti / naan / paratha. But I always prefer having rice item for lunch while I relish roti / naan for dinner. So I prepared Garlic Methi Pulav as it’s the season of fresh methi leaves and it’s a non-spicy pulav so goes very well with the curry. You may choose whichever dish you prefer. But do try out this curry for sure, it tastes simply awesome.
** For the Method of preparing Curry Leaves Powder, Please go through the link given below ….
** An earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey.
Delicious must try 😊
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