Kerala Chicken Curry with Chile
These are very hot little firecrackers from the orient. They can be used to add spice to almost any oriental dish. They dry very easily and can be stored and used this way for a long time.
Ingredients:
Chicken – 1 kg, skinned and cut into pieces
8 tablespoons oil, preferably coconut oil
4 onions, sliced thin and long
1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic, each
6 green chiles, sliced (If you can’t tolerate heat at all, adjust chile accordingly or scrape off the seeds from the chile)
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
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
10 chopped curry leaves
Instructions:
Crush ginger and garlic using mortar and pestle. Heat oil in a large pot or pan. Fry onions, ginger, garlic and chiles on medium flame till onions start to brown slightly. This should take a little above 12 minutes.
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.
Sprinkle over chopped coriander and curry leaves and mix through. Serve hot with plain rice, ghee rice or flat bread.