This is my mother’s recipe and my go-to dish on every day off. It’s a coconut milk-based chicken curry, flavoured with warm spices that are hand-pounded in a mortar with pestle. The secret ingredient in it is lots and lots of love.

  • Serves

    4

  • Cook Time

    00 h 40 m

Ingredients

  • 1 kg boneless chicken leg
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 200 ml tomato puree
  • 2 tbsp whole coriander
  • 1 tbsp whole black pepper
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 15 curry leaves
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 6 cloves
  • 5 whole red chillies
  • 2 small sticks of cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 piece of ginger
  • Salt to taste

Preparation

  1. Dry roast all the whole dry spices in a pan and then pound coarsely in a mortar with pestle.
  2. Grind the dry roasted masalas with the ginger and garlic into a coarse paste in a mixer grinder.
  3. Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves and the masala paste. Sauté for 10 minutes.
  4. Pour in the tomato puree, followed by turmeric powder and cumin powder. Cook for another 10 minutes.
  5. Toss in the chicken and sauté for a few minutes.
  6. Add the coconut milk and simmer the curry for another 10 minutes.
  7. Serve hot with rice.

Written by

Megha Kohli

Chef Megha Kohli started her culinary journey at the age of 17 under Chef Baranidharan Pacha at Oberoi Udaivilas. Today she is the Head Chef and Operations Head at the acclaimed Lavaash by Saby, which serves Armenian food with a Bengali touch.

See more by Megha Kohli