Kerala Chicken

In affluent Indian homes an older generation of housewives had the rather tedious task of planning the daily meals. Back in those days convenience foods were unheard of and probably wouldn't have been used even if freely available. So each day the woman (or women in the case of large extended families living under one roof) would decide what curries would be made, what dhals and what vegetables.

A typical lunch at our home would include rice -- a rather large quantity of it at that -- a fish curry or a chicken curry, two vegetables, curds and a plain dhal. We were big healthy eaters! Ours was also a non-vegetarian family. Which meant plenty of delicious chicken, mutton, fish curries, the odd egg curry and pork during the winters. Today's chicken recipe is a relatively new entrant to the family kitchen. The recipe comes from a Keralite friend and is a common way of preparing chicken in Kerala, one of the four south Indian states. For a nice change try the recipe with a combination of pork and chicken, delicious too!


The Recipe


1 chicken, cut and cleaned (if you like and have a larger number of people to cook for, add about 300 grams lean pork as well)
1/2 inch piece ginger crushed
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 chopped onion
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp tumeric powder
a sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
a little white wine vinegar
salt to taste

1 onion sliced fine
1 cup coconut milk
3-4 fresh chillies

Mix the chicken with the first set of ingredients and cook over a low fire till done. There is no need to add any water.
In a large pan, fry the sliced onion till golden, add the cooked chicken with whatever delicious juices that have come out as the chicken was cooking over a low fire. Fry well and then add the coconut milk. Bring to the boil. Add the fresh chillies and curry leaves and remove from heat. Serve hot with steamed rice.