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South Indian Pepper Chicken Curry

South Indian Pepper Chicken Curry
Course Chicken, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword Tamil Nadu Pepper Chicken
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8 servings
Calories 322kcal
Author Chhavi

Ingredients

  • 2 Pounds Chicken About 1 kg of Chicken, Bone in, small pieces. Check notes
  • 1 tablespoon Ginger Grated, Pounded or in a Paste
  • 1 tablespoon Garlic Grated, Pounded or in a Paste
  • 1.5 teaspoon Turmeric
  • 2 tablespoon Oil Coconut or Gingelly Oil
  • 10-15 Curry Leaves
  • 1 Green Chilli Optional
  • 2 Cups Onions 2-3 Medium sized-Chopped ; 200 gms
  • 2 Cups Tomatoes 2-3 medium sized -Chopped ; 300 gms
  • Salt to Taste about 1.5 tsp

Dry Masala

  • 2 tablespoon Coriander Seeds or Powder
  • 3 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
  • 1 inch Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds saunf
  • ½ tablespoon white poppy seeds Khas Khas
  • 3 Cloves
  • 2 Red Chillies

Instructions

  • Marinate the chicken with turmeric,Salt and Ginger Garlic paste for 15 minutes to 12 hours.
  • In a spice blender, blend all the whole spices - coriander seeds, black peppercorns, Cumin, Cinnamon, Fennel Seeds, Cloves, Poppy seeds & Red chili into a coarse powder and keep aside.
  • In a heavy-bottomed pot, Heat the oil.
  • Add the Onions , curry leaves, and green chili to the hot oil. Sauté till they start turning golden brown.
  • Now add the spice blend. To make the curry less spicy, add only half the spice blend. Sauté for about 30 seconds. Add a splash of water if it starts to burn.
  • Add the Tomatoes and cook until they start disintegrating. About 10 minutes. You can squash the tomatoes to speed up the process.
  • Add the Chicken next and mix well. Turn the pieces Skin side down to enable caramelization. Do not move for about 4-5 minutes.
  • Add about 1 cup water, salt to taste(around 1 tsbp), and let it simmer for 30 minutes or so.
  • Mix it up. Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Video

Notes

Notes Spice Mix

The poppy seeds and coriander seeds give the curry it's body and thickness.
You can dry roast the spices before grinding them up for a more aromatic curry.

To Adjust the spice level of the curry

You can do the following 
  • Leave out the Green Chili
  • Leave out the red chili
  • Reduce the Black pepper to ½ the quantity
  • Or use half the spice powder and save  the rest for next time.

Chicken

Use Bone in Indian Cut or Curry cut chicken- with or without skin.
You can also use Chicken Drumsticks instead.

Serve

Serve this curry over Rice or with Naan or our favorite- with Dosas and kerala parottas.
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 322kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 2mg