This is yet another chettinad delicacy which is known world wide for the spicy chettinad masala taste blended well with the tender chicken. In this type of chicken curry, pepper plays a major role in providing the hot taste needed. I have seen so many recipes of pepper chicken in the net and in most cases they use just pepper for the hot taste. But in the authentic chettinad preparation, half the quantity of chili powder used normally is used and for the remaining part pepper is used. It should be remembered that the crushed pepper should be added at the end to retain its wonderful flavor.
Chicken is well known for curing cold and the role of pepper during cold need no mention. So this curry will be a blessing in disguise for those suffering from cold. In chettinad preparations chicken is never marinated. I guess this was because nattu kozhi which was used those days will take time to cook and the masala gets enough time to get absorbed in the chicken. Now we use broiler chicken and this gets cooked within 10 minutes.

Procedure
It is always better to cook this curry in a kadai than in pressure cooker as the ingredients are added in different stages of cooking.
Pour 2 table spoon of cooking oil and add the items given in ‘for seasoning’ one by one in the order given. First add the nicely minced onion and sauté till oil separates. Then add the ginger garlic paste and turmeric powder. Stir well so that the pastes don’t get burnt. Now add the tomato pieces and try to smash it using the ladle. The smaller the pieces easier it will be to get smashed fast. Now add the coriander powder and mix well. Add ¼ cup of water into the masala. Reduce the flame to medium. Close the kadai and let the masal get cooked for 5 minutes. Now you can see cooked masala with oil on top. In this stage add the marinated chicken pieces. Sauté nicely till the moisture in the chicken comes out. Now there will be enough water in the chicken to get cooked. Add the remaining salt needed also. Close the kadai now and in medium flame cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Check that the chicken pieces are cooked well, if not cook for some more time. Once the pieces are cooked add the crushed pepper corns on top and mix well. Add the lemon juice after switching off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves.