Chicken Curry (My mother’s Chicken Stew)

Recipe No: 86

Well this is the Chicken Stew/Curry that served with Vellayappam in my house for breakfast on all the festivals especially Christmas and Easter as a part of our tradition…  My mother rarely goes to church for the early morning service on these special days as she will not be able to negotiate with the hungry stomachs after wards. So when all of us leave for church she will stay back and make this delicious Chicken Curry in ‘Uruli’(a big wide Bronze cookware) over wood burning stove. The nicest part of the whole thing well… I am ashamed to say this but my dedication to the food that I am cherishing here in a foreign land, helps me to overcome that shame… Returning from church and getting a bit cozier in a home dress, I will  go straight past my mother, who will most probably be making  Appam, to the wood burning stove. There in front of the fire pit I will be greeted by the Uruli with all the chicken Curry taken away but still having one piece in the bottom (the one that my mother used to keep for me) with a whole lot of gravy sticking to the sides of that vessel. With the aid of the most recently cooked Appam I will be enjoying the gravy that is sticking to the sides…guys I should confess that the Curry itself will not come any way near the taste of that sticky goodness…

When my eldest brother got married I found a good companion in my sister in law for this ‘Uruli’ conspiracy, licking the Uruli till my mother starts  to show her faces!!!!!!!!!! Good days… I still miss the Uruli taste, as the curries made in non stick cook wares are  no match to the ones made in the  old fashioned Uruli. But I learned how to stay cool with what I had….Well I have to anyway...

Even though, this cannot be called a stew as it contains a lot of spices than the traditional stew, I know a lot of people in our place that treats this curry the same way you treat a stew and call it so. This goes extremely well with Theenga Aracha Appam (Vellayappam).

Ingredients                                                     Serves 6

• Chicken……………………....1/2 Kg (Skinned and cut into small pieces)
• Potato……………………......2 medium cubed
• Oil…………………………......3 Tablespoons
• Onion sliced thin…….....…1/2 Small
• Ginger chopped………......1 ½ Tablespoons
• Slit Green Chilly…….....…10- 12 If you don’t like heat then take the seeds off the Chilly rather than reducing its number as its flavor is very important for this dish)
• Curry leaves…………......…2-3 Sprigs
• Coriander Powder……......4 Heaped Tablespoons
• Turmeric Powder…….......1/2 Teaspoon
• Garam Masala Powder….1 ½ Teaspoons (Homemade preferred)
• Thin Coconut milk……….2 ½ Cups (Dilute ¾ Cup thick coconut milk with 1 ¾ cup water if you are using canned coconut milk. If you are squeezing grated coconut combine 2nd and 3rd milk together)
• Thick Coconut milk………1 Cup
• Vinegar…………………….…1/2 Teaspoon
• Tomato sliced……………...1/2 Large
• Salt as per taste

Method of Preparation

1. Heat 1 ½ Tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium high heat and saute Onion, Ginger, Green Chilly and Curry Leaves for 2 minutes until the Onion starts to wilt.
2. Add the Chicken pieces and saute for a minute or two till it starts to give water out.
3. Add Coriander Powder, Turmeric Powder and Garam Masala Powder and saute for two more minutes.
4. Add thin Coconut milk and Salt, close the pan and let it boil. Once boiled lower the heat to medium low and let the Chicken cook.
5. While the Chicken is cooking, in another pan heat the rest of the oil and shallow fry (saute) the Potato till its sides starts to brown. Add this fried Potato to the Chicken once it is 3/4th cooked. Don’t add it earlier or the Potato will get mashed up and the curry will taste like Potato curry.
6. Once cooked, add Tomato slices, Vinegar and thick Coconut milk. Let it boil once more and switch off the flame. Cover the vessel and let it sit for ½ hour before serving.

Notes:

• Frying the Potatoes will create a crust around that will prevent them from getting mashed in the Curry.
• The amount of Coriander Powder is very important  so don't try to reduce it (even if you feel it as lots) in order to get the real taste of this dish.
• This goes well with Chappathi , Roti and the best of all Vellayappam/ Thenga Aracha Appam/ Kerala Rice Pancakes with Coconut.

Make it, enjoy the deliciousness and
serve it to your family with love…