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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Chettinad Milagu Kozhi Varuval (Authentic Chettinad Pepper chicken)

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.


Ingredients
Chicken-1/2 kg ,Big onion (nicely chopped)-2
Tomatoes (chopped)-2
Ginger garlic paste-2 teaspoons
Chili powder-1 table spoon
Coriander powder-1 table spoon
Crushed pepper corns-2 table spoons
Lemon juice-1 table spoon
For seasoning
Cinnamon-3 sticks
Cardamom-3
Clove-3
Bay leaf-little
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Curry leaf-little
Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes with 1 table spoon chili powder mentioned in the ingredients, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and half the ginger garlic paste. Add half the quantity of salt required also during marinating.



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.

74 comments:

Sujatha said...

oooh, mouth watering recipe! :) my favorite of all the chettinad chicken dishes.. I did get the recipe from somewhere, but yours looks a little different.. and I can feel the taste from the pic itself... I am going to try your version next time..:)

Cham said...

Except the fennel seeds, i make exactly the same way , but the pepper is toasted little ;)
I am down with a cold from a week and relay on my prescrib, thinking about some hot pepper soup (rasam) and this curry with clear my nasal i guess! Delicious curry aunty!

Kayal said...

Picture itself makes me mouth watering.. Nice recipe will definitely try it out next time..i have got appreciation for your chicken chettinaad recipe.... ;)

Illatharasi said...

Adadadada.... naakula thanni varuthu.... will try this soon.....

chettinadu biriyani recipe varuma? ;)

Indian Khana said...

Looks so nice..wow....am drooling and drooling...nice one dear..Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

s s said...

I will definitely give this recipe a try.

Thank you for sharing

Sarita

Unknown said...

I am just drooling over the picture..just spicy n yumm..

Sanhita said...

Hi. This looks yummy. Will definately try it out.
Happy Cooking!!

Cham said...

Happy Diwali to you and your family Aunty

Unknown said...

This one is a must try! Happy Deepavali Achi!

Prabhu said...

Hi Aachi,

I tried this several times, somehow it is becoming like gravy and if i reduce water then it is going burnt kind of and not getting real taste..Can you help me!!!

Thanks
Prabhu.

mallugirl said...

i made this and loved the peppery crunch in each bite!!thanks.

Srikitchen said...

mmm.............yummy and delicious recipe!

Solai Chidambaram said...

Prabhu,you have to be little liberal in using onion and tomatoes which provide the gravy and water content.water should not be added at all.The water needed will come out from the chicken.follow the recipe exactly.The most important thing is that you have to cook in medium or even low fire.Try in a kadai than in cooker for exact taste

kanchana said...

hai solai achi why no new post for long time. We are eagerly waiting for it.

Unknown said...

Very good recipe...I used to use more pepper and in my house they always have told its gaddy-The masala is heavy though they ate.

I will use yr method exactly.Thankyou.

yashoda said...

The dish looks so yummy!! Thanks for sharing such a good recipe aachi:). Will try out today only!

Unknown said...

Solai achi
Your recipes are awesome! Recently came across your True chettinad kitchen and have been a fan since then...

Your recipes are a boon to newbies like me.

Sanghi said...

Superb dish solai, check out blog too..

Sanghi said...

Superb dish solai, check out blog too..

Unknown said...

achi.. thanks for the recipe.. it came out very well and my husband loved it.. can u post the recipe for 'Enna Kathirikkai Kolambu'..

Jai said...

I tried this and it was excellent. My wife liked it to. By the way I am also from Neyveli and currently in US.

Jai

Gowri said...

Just looking at your recipe, I knew I've found THE RECIPE! Tried it and it was simply marvelous. I'm crazy of chettinad cuisine and have been hunting in vain for the recipes until yday. Thanks a lot for all the brilliant receipes. Pls post more:))

Unknown said...

Hello Aunty,
I tried this recipe for a chettiyar party and it was a BiGGGGGG hit :) Thank you so much....Aunty when you find time oru nalla chicken briyani recipe podunga pls... :)

Unknown said...

hi Solai..I have been trying some of your recipes lately..and let me say that they are awesome!!!The pepper chicken and the chettinad chicken curry were a real hit at home:)You should definitely think of opening a restaurant..i am sure it will be a big success

Malar Gandhi said...

Oh my g, mouth waterign chicken recipe, hmmmm, tell me where do u live? Oh just kidding, don't get offended.

Liwaste said...

thanks for the recipe aunty.. i will let you know how it worked out for me.. but yeah.. you have really good english.. :)

Unknown said...

hi solai, I am a punjabi girl married in tamil family!! you have nno idea how much ur blog has helped me with chettinad cooking. you are life saver. and i can proudly say my MIL is in for a tough competition lol!! thanks again for sharing your wealth of knowledge

TuxDnerD said...

prepared this yesterday...the only minor difference is adding a half a cup of water to the actual dish to get some more gravy...my wife loved the preparation as it came out very tasty. thanks for sharing this recipe...now that the first one is a hit..I would be taking all my cues from your website...thanks again!!

ryetuy said...

Hi Solaiachi..

I have tried many of your recipes.. But i love this pepper chicken.. All your veg and nonvegs are soooooooperb.. :)

All yummy yummy tasty tasty !!!

My native is Karaikudi. Eventhough i ask help to my mom through phone and follow the same i was not able to reach her taste.

But your website helped me a lot. Am happy to say that i learnt cooking from your recipes.

But the only recipe which is hard for me is chicken dum biriyani. The rice is not getting the real masala taste. I dont know where am going wrong. Can you help me out in this. All your other recipes i can reach the real taste from my first try.

Am waiting for the simplest way to prepare chicken or mutton biriyani.

Unknown said...

i tried this with mutton today. it was super and different from the rest of the cookings i have done.. will surely try more of your cookings

Dam said...

Dear Solai Achi,

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My family and I are very grateful for your blog.

I am a tamilian and have lived away from home (Bangalore, India) for the last 2 and a half years and for the first time I felt like I was back in India after eating your pepper chicken with rasam!

Let me know how I can contribute/ make a donation to your website.

Thank you,

Damayanthi

Solai Chidambaram said...

Thankyou Damayanthi.The big donation for me is happiness that I get from knowing that i am making you people feel at home with my recipes.Place a request if you want any particular item

Dam said...

Thank you so much for your generosity Solai Achi! I love how outgoing you are! I am sure we would be the best of friends if we met! I would love to send you a New Year's Card with a photo of my family. Please pass on your address if you don't mind.

Thank you,

Damayanthi

Solai Chidambaram said...

Damayanthi,see the comment section of your blog Malli poo

Sujith said...

hi solai the recipe was just superb........

Sujith said...

Hi I accidently came to your blog... and i felt as if i am in a magical world of cooking... i tried the pepper chicken and it was so tasty....thank you so much for publishing this recipe......

Sukanya said...

Hi Aachi :)

Tried this recipe today and it came exactly like urs... i mean the consistency , color and taste was amazing.. Thanx a ton

Regards,
Sukanya

Kavita said...

Superb recipe. Mouthwatering. Cooking should be learnt from experienced hands like yours.
Great blogspot.... I just accidentaly stumbled upon your blog and have now decided to always visit your blog.
Great job. Keep going...

Lakshmi said...

hi aunty
this is lakshmi..how r u?instead of asparagus i tried pepper chicken..my hubby likes so much..it comes out well..i used to visit ur blog atleast once a day..tomorrow our first wedding day..i am going to try ur mushroom,capsicum and baby corn masala..hope it will come well..i am nursing my kid so i don't know whether i can eat asparagus?

Solai Chidambaram said...

Lakshmi,it is better to avoid asparagus while nursing as it is little gasy

Rums said...

Coming from an Iyer girl who HAS to eat some form of chicken protein everyday due to Gestational Diabetes, from someone who hasn't explored too much with non-vegetarian cooking, this is awesome. This doesn't mean I'm eating out of compulsion, my husband and I love chicken dishes, just that I'm not used to cooking them :)

I had previously tried Mullai's (Spiceindiaonline)recipe for Pepper Chicken, and that was also a smashing hit. Only, this time, I had to dish this up quickly, so I used tomato paste instead of fresh tomato. Although the taste is just amazing, the colour isn't dark brown but is reddish brown but I don't care frankly :)Thanks for the authentic recipe!

It's so easy to make a superhit non-vegetarian dish, the real challenge lies in making vegetarian dishes :)

Unknown said...

I tried this.. I came up really well..
This is the dish which i cooked alone :)
Thanks a lot Aachi..

Unknown said...

solai aachi,
I tried this and it tasted good but the colour was not blackish as in your photo. Can you tell me why?

uma

Unknown said...

Hi aachi,
Can we try regular pepper powder?? should we put the pepper at the final stage only as mentioned??

~sherly

Solai Chidambaram said...

Yes presi,Regular pepper only.Do as per recipe

rec said...

Thanks for your recipe. :)
I tried it and it came out well but i found it to be bit sweeter. Can u help me to identify the reason.

Thanks

Shajeesh said...

Thank you! The recipe was mouth watering when i saw it and when i made it, it was the best pepper chicken i've ever had. its very spicy and its the best part of it. Thank you so much !!!!!!!!!!!

God bless you!!!!!

SHAHI said...

What can I say Aunty..

You have made my day. I made this curry for my wife's first birthday after our marriage and she has appreciated it immensely.

All that credeit goes to you.

God Bless you

HUSSAIN

Solai Chidambaram said...

thank you Shahai.Appreciation of this sort makes me very happy and actually keeps me going.I can see your love for your wife from your comment.Great.Live a long happy married life Shahai.

Faqru said...

I have tried this recipe and all my house members were wondering at my ability to cook such a nice dish....Thanks to Solai Aunty

Priya said...

Hi Solai Aunty,
I started visiting your site 2 months back, every recipe looks awsome, i tried many of veg dishes everything come out well. Today i prepared Pepper Chicken. My husband told me that it's like one we get from hotel, superb aunty.
Thank you for posting. It 's very helpful for beginnerrs like me.
Aunty i want the recipe of 'UKAKARAI' made of moong dahll desert, I had it in my frriend's house. Can you post me please. I love that very much.

nansequitor said...

Hi aunty,
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. This is my first attempt at Chettinad cooking and it came out wonderfully thanks to your recipe.
Veda

Benita said...

Tried this recipe yesterday evening. Everyone loved it. Delicious. Thank you

Josephine

Nadalia said...

The above recipe picture has been copied, edited and posted in
http://www.pachakam.com/recipe.asp?id=4012&RecipeName=Chettinadu%20Pepper%20Chicken

SaSaSaRoja said...

awesome recipe aachi...It came out very well...thanks for the detailed write up. We were able to get the same look in the dish that we made too. Tastier than it looks :)

Priya said...

Aunty - I tried this yesterday and it was awesome. My husband just keeps saying superrrrr superrrrr on and on which makes me so glad. He really loves chicken and this was the first one I got a very good feedback and he wants the same dish very next day again :-) I can tell you without you, it wouldn't have happen. Thank you so much for your recipes

Shiny Vinod said...

Auntyyyyyy!!!!

I tried it and it was awesome. I did not get your color though. But the taste was amazing. Thank you...Thank you and Thank you..

PS: I left a pretty neat comment for biju pillai in pachakam.com. I am sure he is not going to approve it. But atleast he will get the message.

Shiny

Unknown said...

i am not able to cook with just 2 table spoons of oil......or i have 2 add 6 tb of oil,pl reply

Solai Chidambaram said...

No Jk, you are using excess oil or the quantity you cook is more.Especially for chicken you should not use more than 3 table spoons.Initially cook in medium or low fire.Chicken will ooze out water.Once well cooked will ooze out oil used.

Raja said...

hi mam

its really great thing u r doing...thanks:)
i want to try out few dishes...
could you please let me know how to marinate the chicken, that is required in the preparation of many of ur dishes.

Skl said...

Hello aunty,
We tried this dish with dal and rice,it was very delicious,it was fast and easy to make this recipe,thank you for doing an excellent work of giving us wonderful food on the table,
Thank you,skl

Sandy.... said...

மிகவும் அருமை...எல்லாமே சரி...ஏதோ ஒன்னு குறையுதே ன்னு பார்த்தேன்...அது ஒன்னும் இல்ல மேல் கூறிய விளக்கம் தமிழிலும் இருந்தால் இன்னும் அருமையாக இருதிருக்குமே அம்மா!

Unknown said...

The chicken pepper was extremely tasty. My family could not stop eating it! The touch of lemon at the end is a very good touch and not there in any other pepper chicken recipe that I have tried.

Thank you for the yummy recipe and accurate instructions. I hope to try more recipes soon:)

Unknown said...

Solai Achi Vanakam

i did cook and it was good. Thanks.
I would appreciate if you could add the following info.i) ingredients in gms ii)how the colour should look as end product eg.red,brown or yellow.
lord nara

sangeetha singh said...

SOLAI AACHI,

I AM A CHEETIAR GIRL MARRIED TO A RAJPUT, BUT UR RECIPES HAVE HELPED ME A LOT TO CAPTURE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HUSBAND'S HEART.. THANKS A LOT MY MOTHER IS NO MORE BUT UR RECIPES REMIND ME OF HER

Sanch said...

Thanks ma'am it was awesome it tried it today and went great with chappathi

Amsa said...

Aunty Thnk u for sharing this wonderful recipe!!! Neenga innum periya alavil vara asai padaraen...

Amsa said...

Thank u so much amma... such a wonderful recipe... Innum periya alavil neenga varanum!!!

Jayamurugan said...

Tried today for lunch, turned out well.. Keep posting more recipes aunty

Unknown said...

Thank You very much madam for posting this recipes, I tried it this afternoon and turn out to be soooo tasty and my husband love it. I'm been following your blog, thank you soooo much pls do post more recipes maam.

shivkumar said...

hello maam, this is Shivkumar. I have taken up a resolution to cook for my family once a week this year. And your site has been such a blessing ! i tried out the Chettinad Pepper Chicken today and it came out super awesome. My son and wife loved it. thank you for your blog. Take Care and God Bless !

Unknown said...

Mam, shall I try it with nattukozhi? For that should I use cooker?

Solai Chidambaram said...

Yes Anand nattukozhi takes longer time to cook.so you should use cooker.