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  • Malabar Chicken Curry

    by Maria on January 6, 2009

    Malabar Chicken Curry

    First post of the new year!!

    I wanted to post something which is a “pakka” kerala dish as the first post of this year. This has something to do with a new year resolution ( I dont know whether I should call it a resolution because usually my resolutions backfire :( ) Anyways, this year I want to give some priority to Kerala dishes. Though I’ve posted many Kerala recipes, I still get feedback or requests for more and more Kerala dishes. But…if you go through my Kerala recipes, you can see that majority of them are non veg recipes. Apart from a few veg curries that I usually make, I dont venture much into Kerala style veggies…however I hope I will try some veg curries this year.

    I made this chicken curry for new year lunch along with ghee rice. Since I wanted to make something”nadan” I was going through my Kerala cookery books. I have this habit of marking the recipes in the book, which I want to try and after trying it I make a note also about whether I liked it, whether I added something extra, cooking time etc; That’s one habit I got from my cooking guru, my aunty, Tesschechy and I found it quite useful too, because I might be making that recipe again after a long gap and this notes helps me a lot.

    Enough of this & that…lets  go to the recipe. It’s a spicy one and we enjoyed its sight, aroma and taste :)

    chkn-91

    Here is the recipe:

    1. Chicken – 1kg
    2. Small onion- 200 gm, sliced
    3. Dried red chili -100 gm
      Whole coriander – 100 gm
      Ginger – 100 gm, chopped
      Garlic – 50 gm, chopped
    4. Coconut – 1, grated
    5. Onion -1/2 kg, thinly sliced
      Green chili – 10, slit lengthwise
    6. Tomato – 1/4 kg
    7. Turmeric powder – 1/2-1 tsp
    8. Small onion – 10, sliced
      Chili powder – 1/2 -1 tsp
    9. Curry leaves
      Salt
      Coconut oil

    Heat  oil in a pan and saute curry leaves & 200 gm small onion, sliced. After a few minutes add number 3 ingredients. When it is fried well, add grated coconut, mix well. Fry it till the coconut becomes golden brown. Let it cool for sometime. Add enough water to the cooled coconut mixture and grind to a smooth paste.

    Heat oil in a pan and add thinly sliced onion and green chili. When onion is fried well add tomato. When tomato becomes soft add turmeric powder and salt &  stir for a few minutes. Add the ground paste to this and mix well. Add cleaned chicken pieces to this, combine well and add enough water for the chicken to cook. Cover and cook in low flame and stir in between and cook till the chicken is done.

    Meanwhile heat oil in another pan and add small onion (10) thinly sliced and curry leaves. Add chili powder to this and fry well. Add this to the cooked chicken and mix well. Serve hot with ghee rice, plain rice or roti.

    Notes: I used Kashmiri chili powder for this. It’s a spicy dish, so please adjust the spiciness as per your tolerance level.

    Recipe source: Vanitha Pachakam Magazine

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    About Maria Jose Martin

    MariasMenu is a popular food blog written by Maria Jose with its no nonsense simple, tasty and delicious recipes – all tried and tested by readers, family and friends alike. Read more about Maria and her venture.

    • http://varshaspaceblog.blogspot.com varsha

      I usually make this..:).looks great with its thisck texture..coincidentally I also had a malabar dish for new year..A biriyani..

    • Dhanya

      Hey Nice and simple one…. will def try this….. :-)

    • http://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/ Happy Cook

      Happy 2009 to you and your loved ones.
      Wonderful idea to post a pukka kerala recipe.
      Wish i had that kadhai with that kerala chicken with me for liunch with rice.
      yummmm

    • http://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/ Happy Cook

      I have that book flavvour of kitchen in yoiu must buy list .
      An,d also the boof from camila.
      Actuall i can’t find that book anymore at home, as i misplaced them and i miss it as it had such a variety of recipes in them

    • http://curryworld.wordpress.com veenajan

      Hi da ..
      Chicken curry adipoli ..nannyittund tttooo…
      hw r u ..egane undayirunnu x-mas okke ..adichu policho …thanks dear ..edakk message okke kandirunnu …thanks a lot ..

    • Preethi

      Hey Maria,

      I tried this recipe today and it turned out so yummy! Thanks for sharing :)

      ~Preethi

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      thanks Varsha :) so you had a great start to new year with biriyani eh? :)

      yes Dhanya, its simple, please do try and let me know how it turned for you.

      hey HC, happy to you bank and thanks a lot for your wishes. I will parcel the chicken with kadai :) and yes those two books are real reasures, its sad that you cldnt find one :(, hope you find it sometime soon….

      Veena , thank you :) xmas okke adichupolichu :)

      Preethi, very very happy to hear that you liked the dish and thanks a ton for letting me know about it :)

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      thanks Varsha :) so you had a great start to new year with biriyani eh? :)

      yes Dhanya, its simple, please do try and let me know how it turned out for you.

      hey HC, happy to see you back and thanks a lot for your wishes. I will parcel the chicken with kadai :) and yes those two books are real treasures, its sad that you cldnt find one :(, hope you find it sometime soon….

      Veena , thank you :) xmas okke adichupolichu :)

      Preethi, very very happy to hear that you liked the dish and thanks a ton for letting me know about it :)

    • http://www.stargazer-lalitha.blogspot.com lalitha

      Love all the recipes you post and the pictures are awesome too.

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      Thanks Lalitha for dropping in and writing to me :) Please do try the recipes and let me know your feedback.

    • JOHN

      Hey I am just a beginner in cooking, Found your recepies quite useful. Will definitely try out this one..Thanks

    • famy

      looks great

    • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

      John, very happy to hear that you find the recipes here useful. Please do try it and let me know whether you like it. Hope you will enjoy cooking and all the best !!

      Thanks Famy :)

    • Pingback: White chocolate blueberry muffin - Marias Menu

    • Biju

      Coconut mixture nu alternative undo???? :P
      here its 2.8 Euro for a coconut :((

    • sumi

      Hey Maria,
      Thanks for posting these recipes. I from US and here we get everything in lb and no kg and gm. Can you please mention the ingredients measure in spoons for gm and for kg if you can mention the number may be for tomato, onion because i am not sure about that. Thanks

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Sumi

        Thanks for dropping in.

        I will try to mention the quantity in spoons and numbers also, wherever its possible.

        However, if you want to do the conversions, please check out the cooking converter (below reader favorites) feature which can be seen on the right side of this blog.

        Hope you find it useful.

        Take care
        Maria

        • sumi

          Hey that’s great to know that there was a converter on this site, usually i use google to convert. Thanks for letting me know, will surely try your recipes.

          Sumi

    • Biju

      Maria.. !00gm red chilli and coriander enu paranjathu.. 100gm te packet full edanoo????

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Biju

        I was referring to whole red chilly & whole coriander seeds (not powders).

        If you are using powders, add 2 tsp red chilly powder (approx) and 1/2 – 1 tbsp (big spoon)coriander powder.

        Hope this helps.

        Cheers
        Maria

        • Biju

          njan valiya kaariyathinu ellam vaangi kondu vanu.. pine aanu kandathu athu grind cheyanam enu… but no mixie here… :( pine njan ente style il undaki… next week eni powder vaangi kondu vanu try cheyanam.. :)

    • Maria

      Hello Maria,

      Thank you for the recipes..I have been browsing different sites to find some thing simple and easy. I am a beginner in this area. I like the simplicity of your recipes and the way you have added tips and tricks.. Yet to try anything listed here but they all look yummy and more importantly ‘doable’ !

      have decied to try one by one..

      Thanks !!

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Maria

        Thanks for dropping in and taking time to go through the recipes :)

        Please try out the recipes when you’ve time, hope you will like it.

        Happy cooking :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Bindu

      I tried the Malabar Chicken Curry – it turned out great. My husband loved the dish. Only that I did not use 10 green chillies. And used only coconut oil for the dish. Thanks a million Maria.

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Thanks Bindu for writing to me :)

        Happy to know that your family liked it and yes coconut oil adds a special flavor to this dish :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • http://nms-speak.blogspot.com Neetha

      I had so far tried only some of the cakes on your site… I tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out great! My husband who is this great chicken lover really appreciated it!

      Thanks a lot!

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Neetha

        Thanks a lot dear :) this is a fav dish of Jose too :)

        Will drop in at your place sometime soon.

        Take care….

        Cheers
        Maria

    • sindhu

      Hi Maria,
      I tried ur malabar chicken curry. But masala was too much .Are u sure about the wts.? 100gms each coriander and chilly was too much.While cooking i rechecked my printout again and again to make sure i am not going wrong.Final output was toooo spicy with toooo much masala.But taste was good.Pl help

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Sindhu,

        I usually write the measurements that I use. However our taste and spice level can be different.

        May be next time you should try reducing the masala to suit your requirements.

        Regards
        Maria

    • priya

      Hi Maria,

      I tried your chicken mappas curry and it turned out to be really yummy.
      Now I am gonna try out malabar chicken curry. :)
      But one problem- I am not sure how to meadure in gm or kg for the ingredients.
      Can you please help me in terms of how many spoons of the ingredients I should use and also for the onions- how many small onions and how many ordinary onions? Also how many tomatoes?

      This will be really helpful.
      Please help.

      Thanks,
      Priya

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Priya

        Glad to know that you liked the mappas. Thanks for trying it :).

        Its been sometime I made this curry. However I will try updating the recipe, especially the ingredient qty part.

        Is it ok if I give the measurements of spice powders like coriander powder instead of coriander seeds?

        Coriander powder – 1-2 tbsp
        Red chilly powder – 1/2 – 1 tbsp (depending on your spice level, you can increase or reduce it).

        Onion – 4 big
        Tomato – 3

        Hope this helps….Pls keep in mind these are rough estimates..

        Cheers
        Maria

        • Priya

          @Maria,

          Thank you so much. I tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out to be really yummy.

          • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

            Thanks Priya :)

    • liz

      Maria,

      I loved the photo and I tried out the recipe. But mine didnt look anything like this. Is there any way I should saute it or add any other powders? My chicken curry is golden brown in color…sigh!!

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi liz,

        The difference in colour can be caused by:

        1. Frying the coconut till it becomes golden brown. Since this is the base masala, if the coconut is not fried well, the color of the entire curry can be different.
        2. Also i usually roast/cook the chicken a bit extra, so that the masala becomes a dark brownish color.

        Apart from the above 2 reasons, I’m not sure why the color was different :(

        I hope at least you liked the taste of the curry.

        Regarding separating of oil from the gravy, sorry dear, i dont know what’s the trick, but usually once you add the masala to the curry and cook for sometime usually you can see a layer of oil forming on the top. You try cooking in low flame after the masala is added.

        Hope it will come out with perfect color next time :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • liz

      Also what is the trick to let the oil separate from the gravy?

    • liz

      I let it fry for a long time and it turned dark. The oil did not separate but am good with it. The flavor was very good. I need to try it again and try to get it picture perfect.

      SInce u like desserts, give this a shot. Its a cross between caramel custard and a cheesecake.

      http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Flan-Mexicano-Mexican-Flan/Detail.aspx

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi liz,

        Glad that you liked the taste. Hope you will get the perfect color too next time.

        Thank you so much for sharing the link. I liked that recipe, hoping to try it sometime soon :)

        Cheers
        Maria

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    • Latha

      I tried your recipe and this curry was a hit at home. My hubby and son liked so much along with Chappthi & Appam.

      I adjusted spiciness(used only 4 red chilly). I omitted the garnishing part as the aroma was so good that by the time I was chopping small onions my hubby & son started having it along with Chappthi, I also joined . Thanks for the nice Kerala recipe

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Latha,

        You are welcome :) Very happy to hear that your family liked it. It’s a nice combo with chappathi & appam.

        Hope you will be able to do the garnishing bit next time :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Anitha M.

      Hello Maria:

      I’ve been a frequent visitor to your blog for quite some time now, but never bothered to write in. But I think its high time that I did!!

      I’ve tried out mostly your cake recipes which have been given A++++++++ certificates & huge “thumps up”s by my kids! Recently, however I tried out this recipe using veggies (as its our “noimbu”period now) & it was superb! Can’t wait to try out with chicken!!

      Keep on posting new recipes!!!!

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Anitha,

        Thank you so much for the lovely feedback :)

        Hope you will be able to make the chicken version soon and like it too. Btw, a special hi to your kids :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • teresa

      this is the first time i saw ur website & tried the recipe. tried this recipe for a party in our house last week….it turned out very good…..every one liked it…..thanks a lot for the recipe….. :)

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Teresa,

        You are welcome :) & thank you for dropping in. Glad that you liked this recipe.

        Please try out other recipes also, hope you will like it.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • leeba

      i want to try this dish for a party.
      so, dont we need any garam masala for this dish?

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Leeba,

        I didnt use any garam masala for this recipe. However you can add garam masala to suit your taste. You can add the garam masala when the chicken is half cooked.

        Hope you will like this recipe. please do share your feedback, if yo happen to try this recipe..

        All the best!!

        Cheers
        Maria

        • leeba

          @Maria: thank you so much for this lovely recipe..it was a really tasty dish..everybody loved it…I am so sorry for the late reply..Everyday after that dinner party i think of writing the review , but i will forgot it, in the midst of my busy schedule.
          But, u r doin a good job!!
          keep it up.
          will search for more good recipes….
          take care

          • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

            HI Leeba,

            Thanks for your wishes :) Great to know that this recipe came out well for you. No need for sorry n all :) Thanks for taking time to leave a comment here in spite of your busy schedule. Appreciate it very much.

            Cheers
            Maria

    • Bindhu

      Hi Maria,

      We tried the Malabar Chicken Curry on a sunday. It turned out to be an awesome dish .We all loved it. It was one of the best, spicy and mouthwatering chicken dish i have tried so far ….. kudos for such recipies …

      best wishes,
      Bindhu

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Bindhu,

        Thank you so much for trying a recipe from here. Great to know that you liked it :)

        Thanks for your wishes and best wishes to you too…

        Cheers
        Maria

    • suma

      Hi Maria,

      My sis-in-law introduced u to me. We tried the Malabar chicken curry. It was very delicious and spicy. I loved it.. Thank u for the wonderful recipe.

      suma

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Suma,

        You are welcome dear :). Its nice to know that you liked this dish. Thanks for the comment & also please convey my special thanks to your sis in law for recommending this blog.

        Wish you & your family a very happy new year!

        Cheers
        Maria

    • ichu

      hi maria,,,
      your nadan chicken curry was great. my hus loved it .
      thanks for the wonderful recepie,,,,

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Ichu

        Thanks a lot dear for trying the recipes from here. I appreciate very much that you take time to post comment also, it means a lot to me :)

        Keep trying & keep posting the comments :)

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Pinky

      Hi Maria,
      I tried this recipe with 1.5 kilo chicken..and one medium size coconut..i dont know what went wrong..this dish didnt turn out well:( the masala was too much than the chicken.and the consistency of the curry wasn’t thick even though i didnt add much water to it while cooking..the color was lighter….it took more than an hour for me to fry the coconut along with shallots..do u fry it separately?? Pls help me out…i followed the same measurement as listed except for the chicken…

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Pinky,

        Sorry to hear that this curry didnt turn out well for you :( I’m not sure why it happened.

        It usually takes 10-15 mins for me to fry the coconut, I’m not sure why it took longer for you. I fry it along with shallots only. May be you can try frying them separately. If the masala was more, ideally the curry should have a thick consistency. Again, I dont know why your’s was thin. I’m sorry, I dont have any exact reason for why it happened :( I wish I could help you…

        Cheers
        Maria

    • charishma

      hey maria
      by small onions ,do you mean shallots

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Charishma,

        Yep, shallots only..

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Runam

      Hi Maria.

      I’ve tried a number of recipes from your blog and they’ve all turned out awesome. I made Malabar chicken today and it was delicious.

      Thanks a ton for all the effort you take to post such wonderful recipes. I hardly knew to cook anything until a while ago and now my husband’s friends compliment me for my cooking. All thanks to you.

      Keep up the good work!!

      Cheers!
      Runam

      • http://www.mariasmenu.com Maria

        Hi Runam,

        Thanks a ton dear for such a wonderful comment. I’m so thrilled to know that you find this space helpful :) Thanks a lot for sharing your feedback with us, it means a lot.

        Btw, you can also take credit for the compliment, the cook also plays an important role :)

        Best wishes!

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Maria

      Hi Maria,

      Thank you for the recipes..I am from US.I have been browsing different sites to find some thing simple and easy and healthy. I am a beginner in this area. I like the simplicity of your recipes and the way you have added tips and tricks.. I tried eggless cinnomon cake and oatmeal cookies.Simply superb! have decied to try one by one..

      Thanks a lot….have a good day!
      Maria

      Read more: http://www.mariasmenu.com/spicy/malabar-chicken-curry#ixzz1LABOIfNJ

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Maria,

        First of all I’m sorry for the delayed reply. I guess I missed your comment :( Thank you so much for your kind words. Great to know that you liked the cake & cookie recipes, thanks for trying it dear.

        Hope you will visit this space often. Happy cooking & baking!

        Take care…

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Sajna

      Hi! I’m an absolute fan of your blog and have tried several recipes from here :) All of them have been super hits and my husband really really enjoyed them as well! We live in Sweden, so don’t get all the ingrediants some times, and I sometimes ask my mum to courier me things.. lol :D  But this one was a mega flop :( :( Are you absolutely certain about the quantities of spices you have mentioned ? I used only half the amount u have mentioned here (50gms of red chilly, 50 gms of coriander and only 2 green chillies!) but there was still toooooo much masala for 1 kg chicken and it was way too spicy! I’m a sucker for sooooper spicy dishes but this one was way above even my tolerance level! I ended up having to add loooadsa cream, coconut milk and yogurt to make it eatable. I still have an anormous amount of masala left, that I have frozen it to use for other curries!! Also I noticed in some of the comments you say 1-1 1/2 tsp red chilly powder while using powders, but how can 1-1 1/2 tsp be the same as 100gms ??! I really wanna try this again with the malabar pathiri (which turned out AWESOME, in the first try, btw!) but don’t wanna do it again till I hear from you… would be very helpful if you could tell me what could have gone wrong!

      Regards,
      Sajna

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Sajna,

        Thank you so much for the lovely feedback about the recipes here dear :) . I’m glad that you like them.

        About this recipe, let me tell you something…. Honestly, when I see the comments on this post, I’m a bit scared. It will be either of the two… saying it was a mega hit or saying it was a mega flop :( I guess the measurements in the grams is a bit confusing. I do want to update it in terms of cups & spoons. I’m hoping to do it sometime soon.

        Meanwhile, do check out the video of this recipe by show me the curry team. They did the show based on the recipe here. Hope it helps…

        You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U67AKnwtWAc

        Cheers
        Maria

    • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

      okies, I’ll try to work on it soon :) btw, you know what… I just baked a batch of oatmeal cookies yesterday n I thought about you while snacking them ;) Please check out the eggless cinnamon cake recipe, its also a healthy one.

      Thank you so much for your encouraging feedback dear. Happy holidays n have fun!

      Take care,
      Maria

      • Sajna Sinosh

        Haha :D No wonder I kept sneezing yesterday :P :P

        I’m going to make the oatmeal cookies today… will let you know about how it turns out! And the eggless cinnamon cake is actually the next  one in my list ;D

        Cheers :)
        Sajna

      • Sajna Sinosh

        Haha :D No wonder I kept sneezing yesterday :P :P

        I’m going to make the oatmeal cookies today… will let you know about how it turns out! And the eggless cinnamon cake is actually the next  one in my list ;D

        Cheers :)
        Sajna

    • Veronica

      I have been looking at your site, and have even copied this recipe to try out, however, you say ‘ serve hot with ghee rice’ but the recipe for the ghee rice is nowhere to be found. Don’t you have any ‘rice recipes?

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Veronica,

        I havent posted the recipe for ghee rice as such. However I’ve posted rice recipes, you can see it in the rice & noodles category. Check out the rice preparation part in any biriyani recipe, its very similar to ghee rice preparation. Hope that helps…

        Cheers
        Maria

    • Vinaya tom

      hi.. 
      i am a fan of your blog. your recipes have helped me a lot. thank you very much.one among that is your chicken stew. its yummm. please post chicken kurma recipe. 

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Vinaya,

        Thank you so much Vinaya for your wonderful comment. Its a pleasure to hear that you find this site useful. I’ll try to post a chicken kurma recipe sometime…

        Cheers
        Maria

    • King Alankot

      awesome….i was getting tired of making the same style chicken curry for some time.Wanted to do something special for my wife today…..would you believe I am posting this without even tasting it….it smells heavenly…I know how will it  taste..:)…Thanks much again…looking for more malabari recipes….

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Alankot,

        Good to know that your chicken curry came out well :) I hope your wife also enjoyed the curry. Thanks a lot for sharing your comment here.

        Cheers
        Maria

    • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

      Hi Beth,

      Thanks again for taking time to share your feedback here, appreciate it very much :) Hope you get to try other recipes too…

      Cheers
      Maria

    • Maya

      The dish was delicious but I guess the quantity of ingredients mentioned was way too much for 1 kg chicken. Either the quantity of chicken had to be increased to 2 kg or the other things like coriander and all had to be reduced. If u can provide measurements in tsp or tblspn that would be better. Anyways great site to learn cooking!!! Keep it up!!!

      • http://mariasmenu.com Maria Jose

        Hi Maya,

        I’ve been meaning to change the recipe into tspns & tbspns for sometime. Hopefully I can do it soon.

        Nice to know that you find this site useful. Happy cooking!

        Wish you a wonderful new year!

        Cheers
        Maria

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