Chicken Chettinad pepper masala (Milagu masala kozhi)

Chettinad, the land of the Chettiar community, is a collection of 76 villages and 2 towns in Tamilnadu, in Southern India. The Chettiars are a very thriving community due to trade, which also exposed the community to new spices and cooking techniques that they incorporated. The cuisine is complex, loaded with a wide array of spices, some specific to the region, and packed with pungent flavours.

This dish is the most famous of the Chettinad cuisine and is the most ordered dish in restaurants. Variations of this dish are also made with mutton or beef.

This recipe plays to all the characteristics of the cuisine. The gravy is thick and pungent with local Tellicherry, Coorg black pepper, and goondu chillies but balanced and flavorful. The goondu chilies are from Salem and pack a fiery heat that is sharp and pungent. If you cannot use them, use any dried red chilli of your choice. The chicken is fork tender, and the thick gravy that clings to it heavily erupts in complex flavours, spicy, fiery and delicious on your palate. The spice from the black pepper is immediate followed by a slow burn from the chilies that linger. This dish will make your nose run and make you sweat, but so good for those who like spicy food. Perfect with that glass of beer to wash down the heat.

This South Indian cookbook brings to my shelf the unique cuisine of the Chettinad Tamils in South India. This now popular cuisine is known to be extremely spicy, complex and distinct. This book is a beautiful collection of recipes that make this cuisine accessible to us at home.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the masala:

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2-3 teaspoons black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

3-4 dried red chilies, preferably goondu milagai

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon ginger paste

for the chicken:

4 tablespoons oil

1 2-inch piece cinnamon stick

4 green cardamom pods

1 1/2 medium onions, finely minced

2 medium tomatoes, puréed

1/2 kg chicken, drumsticks, breast meat or cut of your choice

2 cups water

Salt, to taste

To make the masala, dry roast all the spices in a frying pan until toasted and lightly coloured. Cool, mix with the turmeric, and grind to a fine powder in a spice mill. Mix with the garlic and ginger, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the onions and sauté for 4-5 minutes on medium heat until they have taken on a light golden color.

Add the tomato purée and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add the spice masala and mix in well. Cook the sauce for 5-8 minutes until it has thickened and oils begin to come to the surface. Be careful, as the sauce may stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Stir often, dislodging the stuck masala, if any.

Add the chicken and cook until the meat is sealed and no longer looks raw. Add the water and salt and mix in well, scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge any stuck masala. Simmer gently for 35 minutes, turning the dish ever so often. Towards the end of the cooking time, make sure you have enough water; if not, add a few tablespoons. Cook until the meat is fork tender and the sauce is clinging heavily to it.

Serve immediately with rice.