Our social:

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Chettinad Chicken Kuzhambu (Authentic Chettinad Chicken Gravy)

However much variety of chicken we cook, nothing can take the place of the traditional kuzhambu being made form the time old days. It is compatible with anything we have at home i.e., rice, dosa, idly, roti, chappathi or parotta.If you want the chicken recipe from a grand old lady of chettinad she will be well aware of this recipe only. This is the most favorite chicken item that I cook for all in my home. I too is very happy to cook this as I can escape without cooking anything else for the night and next day’s breakfast side dish. Moreover this is very easy to prepare also. So the younger people can have a go at this recipe. I am sure it won’t turn bad whatever mistake you make.
I have already mentioned in my previous blogs on chicken that chicken was never marinated in chettinad before. It was because they used the regular chicken which took much time to cook and the there was time for the masala to get into the chicken pieces. Now we use broiler chicken which gets cooked very fast and if we do not marinate, the pieces will be blunt without any salt or hot taste. So we have to marinate the chicken for any kind of preparation. This Kuzhambu is very easy and tasty if prepared in the pressure cooker. So cooker can be used. Chicken will be cooked soft and the children and the old people will love it
Ingredients
Chicken-1/2 kg
Small onion-30 or big onion-2
Tomatoes-2 (small size)
Garlic-20 pods
Ginger garlic paste- 2 teaspoons (I have shown ginger and the garlic needed)
Chili powder-1 table spoon
Coriander powder-2 to 3 table spoons (depends on the qty of gravy you need)
lemon juice-2 teaspoons
For Marination
Curd-2 table spoons (if there is no curd a teaspoon of lemon juice can be used)
Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon
Chili powder-2 teaspoons
Salt-2 teaspoons
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
For seasoning
Cardomom-2
Cinnamon-2 small pieces
Clove-2
Birinji leaf-small piece
Star anise-a small piece
Mint leaf-little
Curry leaf little
Fennel seed-1 teaspoon
For grinding (Too much of coconut will spoil the taste and will make the gravy look like kurma)
Cocunut-2 table spoons
Cashewnut-5 (Kas Kas was used traditionally, since it is difficult to grind cashews are substituted)
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Method
Wash the chicken pieces nicely
Marinate with the items given in ‘To marinate’
Let it stay for 1 hour
Mince the onion, garlic and tomatoes
Grind the items in “to grind to a smooth paste
Keep the cooker in the stove
In 1 table spoon of oil season the kuzhambu with the items in ‘To season’
Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger garlic paste and tomatoes one by one nicely
Add the marinated chicken and sauté nicely for 3 minutes
Add the chili and coriander powder
Add 2 to 3 cups of water (if gravy is thick water can be added latter also)
Put the salt needed (Remember 2 teaspoons of salt was added while marinating)
Mix everything well
Close the cooker and put the weight
Once the steam starts coming reduce the flame to medium
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes
Wait for the pressure to get released
Open the cooker and add the grinded paste
Let the gravy boil for 5 minutes
Now if the gravy is very thick than the consistency you need, water can be added
Check for the salt and hot taste and if any correction has to be made it can be done now
If you find the gravy too watery even after 5 to 8 minutes of boiling little coriander powder can be added
Once everything is well mixed and the gravy looks perffect
Switch off the stove
Add the lemon juice and mix well (Note that lemon juice should be added after switching off the stove else the gravy will turn little bitter)
Your chettinad chicken gravy is ready
Garnish with coriander leaves while serving

70 comments:

PriyaRaj said...

Wow chettinad chicken Kuzhambu looks very Hot & Delicious madam.......All ur Chettinad collections r Amazing ........

Mamatha said...

This sounds delicious Solai. I have to try this soon. Chettinad cuisine is one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing these authentic recipes.

Best wishes,
Mamatha

Deepa said...

Sounds great! I must surely try this.
Thank you ma'am.

Adaengappa !! said...

Good one ! Guests liked the dish..
Got recipe for theeyal ?

Shama Nagarajan said...

truly an authentic yummy chicken delight

Illatharasi said...

Super.... parthale pasikuthu.... want to try it ASAP :)

Gaya3 said...

Solai Aunty,I LOVE YOUR BLOG.Beautiful recipes.I will try this after my exams

Gaya3 said...

Solai Aunty,I LOVE YOUR BLOG.Beautiful recipes.I will try this after my exams

Unknown said...

Sounds authentic and delicious!

Several tips said...

Very good recipe.

s s said...

Thank you Solai for this recipe. I did try it out, and my family liked it. However, it did turn out more watery than I wanted it to be. I will reduce the water next time.

Keep up the good work!

Sarita

PriyaRaj said...

Pls collect ur Award from my blog...

Dick said...

I made this today and it was excellent-- great recipe! So many good flavors. While it takes a long time to prepare (particularly for the first time) it's worth it.

Your blog is really appreciated.

Unknown said...

I was looking for a good chicken kozhambu, for a very long time, and here it is, Thank you, Mrs.Solai,
Jayanthi

Vineela said...

Hi....This is a yummy recipe. I want to try this soon and post in my blog
http://herbsnspicerack.blogspot.com

fathima said...

Dear Solai Amma,

I never learnt cooking from my mom. Whenever she asked me to learn cooking, i said i will take care about it later in my life. I left my parents and came to Dubai and started suffering without knowing how to cook. But I never knew that God will give me a chance to learn cooking from Mom again. I started learning with your receipes and grand applause to you MOM. U R DOING A GREAT JOB. Thank u so much and keep posting more and more receipes please

Solai Chidambaram said...

fathima,what more do I need by writing blogs dear.You know I started writing this blog for the sake of my daughter who got married and settled in US.She was exactly like you.So my very intention was to help you people which I have mentioned in my first blog on chettinad food.Keep rocking dear.If you want any particular recipe ask for it.I will write that

mohana said...

when ever I asked my wife to teach me chicken kuzhambu she will not teach me saying that you need not learn how to cook. When I go to kichen when she cooks, she will stop what ever she does.

I was not able to do any cooking except making dosa,idli and rice for the past 15 years. My wife thinks that cooking is not husband's job. we are in the USA still she maintains this tradition as she is from a village near palakkad in kerala.

After I watch your dad's interview in the kairali TV I googled your site and made the chicken kuzhambu taking leave from office and made every one to surprise...thanks..it is so simipe and provides alternative, if indredients are not available.

you made my day.

mohankumar
washington D.C

Solai Chidambaram said...

That sounds great Mohan.Very happy to see you so interested in cooking eventhough your better half does'nt want you to cook.I should really congragulate you for having such a caring wife in this decade.

gtyuk said...

I'm going to try this curry tomorrow for some guests; it sounds absolutely delicious; will keep you posted about the results!!thank you for the recipe!!

Surjeet said...

when do you add the seasoning?

Nazrin said...

am a big fan of chettinad cuisine..this recipe sounds very delicious...thanks a lot for letting us know ur amazing recipes..
thank u mam.

VijiNagaraj said...

aunty,ur recipies are good:-).chettinad food has become my fav in the recent past with ur recipies..Please post Ulli theeyal recipe whenever u find time

WhyteHousieBala said...

Hello aunty,

I made this Kuzhambu along with Chicken biryani for lunch.. it was good with biryani.. we had the same kuzhambu for dinner with chapathi.. this combination was pretty good.. thnx for d recipe.. i've started trying one of ur recipes daily.. everything is coming out good...

Bala

செல்வேந்திரன் said...

Thanks Aunty...It came very good

karthik said...

Awesome recipe. Taste is too good..We are doing this every weekend.

jananiramakrishnan said...

Hello solai aunty,
This is the first recipe that i cooked and it was amazing..everyone loved it..and the taste added up with chappathi..Thanks a lot :)

EKC said...

hello aunty.. Today i searched in net and luckily got ur kitchen receipie "Chettinadu chicken kuzhambu" . Tried it today and it came very well..
Now Ur kitchen is my Favorite kitchen.. Thanks a lot

Archana said...

Very yummy tasting chicken kuzhambu - followed the recipe to the T. Awesome end result! Thank you!

Unknown said...

Hi Aachi...

It is a very useful website where i am using it for the past 1.5 yrs.. just want to clarify that after cooking the chicken still i felt that the raw chicken smell while tasting.. how to remove that? do i need to marinate for more time? or do i need to use more curd?

Rgds,
Siva

Push said...

Hello Aachi,

I tried this receipe, it was awesome...i had it with Dosa in the Morning and with rice during lunch..it was superb !!!!! Thanks for this wonderful receipe !!!!

Unknown said...

thank you very much for ths recipe...im a born vegetarian and new to non veg cooking.......i made it in the same way uve xplained .it came out very well..thnx lots..
Gayathri Sivakumar

SarahGeorge said...

Thank you madam for your wonderful recepies. I was in US till last month. I used to view your blog there itself. I was once thinking that chettinad samayal can only be done by hotel proffessionals, but you have changed my whole idea. The way you display the items needed makes our cooking more easier.Once again thank you for your great blog!

Unknown said...

Aachi.. Pramaadham!!! Arumaiyana recipe. Romba nalla vanthuchu... My husband loved it... Thanks a lot!!!

Unknown said...

Solai Aunty,

I am a beginner and I love all your recipes. They are so authentic. I have been trying all your recipes and pass it over to my mom. Now, I have a huge fan falling for chettinad food from my friends.

Best Regards,
Meera

Unknown said...

Dear Aachi,
As you know I bumped into your site very very recently....So I am trying ur recipies now...
I have tried various chicken curries but this was the best to go with rice...this is only called KUZHAMBU..I used the exact amounts of your measurements...and was amazed...No store bought masala,very less spices( another common mistake, we think lots of spices means more taste...how wrong...)very less coconut (this was one mistake that I was always making- always had wrong amounts I think...)As somebody has already said, mine turned very watery too...so dry roasted coriander seeds, wet grinded it smoothly and finally added to the curry...Oh my God...it fixed the consistency in 2 minutes...and the pungent aroma which was missing..was instantly coming out and filled my whole house...When my husband tasted, he told it just tasted like his Aachi's (grandma- as we call them in nellai)Kaimanam..Really it brought early childhood memories...this recipie cannot be compared to the modern curry with store bought masala...and it was mild and we were able to enjoy the taste of the ingredients... BIG THANKS...Again I want to tell you this is just not another site....but an Unique site...whoever has done this curry with ur exact measurements will just agree with me....
With Warm Regards,
Supriya.

Solai Chidambaram said...

Supriya,very happy to see your comment.comments like these make me happy since they make me know that you guys are trying to cook well for your family.

Unknown said...

ur gravy luks awesom wanna try it i ve tried kozhi rasam dum biriyani ur kurma.. all turned out eexcellent... thnks a loadssss

Vinns said...

Atlast my husband appreciated the chicken gravy which I did last week as per your instructions. This is the very first time he appreciated me which took more than a decade to say so. Thanks Amma for giving a step by step procedure with photos making me to judge the proportions.

Unknown said...

Solai aachi,
I have made this chicken kuzhambu a few times and my children love it. It goes well with rice as well as chappathi. Thanks for posting it.

Uma

Suba said...

Dear Aunty,
My husband saw this recipe and followed it exactly as you described. Recipes like these is the reason, Tamil cuisine is one of the best !

I liked it very much
Thanks a ton, aunty !

Jerald Nathan said...

Hi Aachi,

We tried this recipe today at our home. It is very very delicious. Please keep posting more recipes.

saheli said...

aunty.i made this kuzhambu today.it tasted awsome.it tasted like kuzhambu made for white pongal made during kedavettu in india.thanks much aunty.

KPR said...

I Tried it with Naatu Kolizhi...Wow it turned out very well...everybody @ home where mightily impressed...Thanks for the recipe .. Happy Blogging

Priya Kurup Premkumar said...

Solai, I made your Chicken Kuzhambu today, my Husband says it's my best ever. Tried your mutton Kuzhambu last week for a potluck party, the response was overwhelming. Thank you so much, your blog is amazing.

Nirmala said...

Super achi. I made it today and the taste was just as in Karaikudi. Enjoyed it.

Unknown said...

Aachi, I tried the kuzhambu this afternoon. Result was it really excellent. First time i tried doing this, and one of friend who was in a deep sleep came out sniffing the smell, the smell made him wake up. Happy when the result when all my friends said it was excellent. Credit goes to you. Thanks very much.

kitchenkemistry said...

Hi Solai,
I've been following your blog for a while.Your blog is my BIBLE for chettinad cuisine.I prepared a collection of your recipes when i invited friends over for dinner.Now I'm married and a housewife.I've started my household a week back.I don't have much of kitchen appliances to make a perfect curry.Yet I prepared your Chicken Kuzhambu.....It's just deliciously mouth watering.I'm sure hubby dear is going to love it as he's been away on a business trip for past 2 days and surviving on sandwiches and wraps.
Thanks a lot again.Continue the good work.I love all your recipes as it's described in a simple way.
Regards,
Ida.

Neethi - Karamadai said...

Dear Achi, before reading your Blogs, I was thinking that cooking is a difficult one. you have made us to cook tastier foods in easy way. Thank U

sema said...

Thank you for the tasty recipe.It turned out perfect.I just started a food blog -My Recipe Book -and have added an image of this gravy that I did for today's lunch.

kutti said...

I tried Chettinad chicken Kuzhambu and it has come out very well, i am loving it and your recipe is really very very.............yummy............

thanks for the recipe and i am going to try most of your recipes.

krishstj said...

Hi,
I tried this dish and its very good. Thank you for sharing these authentic recipes.

Asha said...

Achi,
Tried your chettinad chicken kulambu today........was too... good aachi.....but one complaint i have aachi...since the taste was amazing it was over for breakfast itself :)....i tried coriander powder extra but could get only little more gravy...how to increase the gravy aachi? shall we grind onion and tomato as u did in another gravy? pls let me know eagerly waiting....once again great work aachi.....and one more thing ,this is the first time i pass comments though i see many cooking blogs....u just tempt me.......:)

Solai Chidambaram said...

Asha,u can add tomatoes and onion grinded to have more gravy.But it will give a different taste.Try adding 10 grounded cashew paste or kas kas and cashew grinded.this will thicken the gravy very fast.

Shyam Sundar said...

Thanks for this recipe.

Shyam

KrBr said...

Achi Kolambu rombavae nalla irunthathu!!!

Thanks!!

KrBr said...

Achi,

Could you pls share the recipe for Arisi Upma(rice and dhall measurement)??

Anil's said...

I tried your Chettinad Chicken, was simply awesome. Thank you very much for this receipe

Unknown said...

hi aunty...i hav tried out this recipe of yurs and it came out very tasty...i made some changes in yur recipe coz me and my hus love spicy curries..i hav added chillies and pepper powder to the gravy and it was awesome...thanks aunty..

Skl said...

Hello aunty,
We tried this recipe,it turned out great,it was tasting more delicious the next day,thank you for such great authentic recipes,
Skl

Unknown said...

Dear aunty,
I am mymoon living in dubai with parents.
Like fathima sister I too was telling my mom whenever she asked me to see her way of cooking.but now she is not well so i suppose to cook.I had been tried more chicken kuzhambu reciepies my dad not get satisfied with those.he always used to complaining my curries.today I tried this with left over carrots poriyal.
He said this is what am expecting with u.
waw frst time got wishes from dad for my cooking.
am soo happy aunty.
moreover we got guests today unexpectly,they also enjoyed my curry.
Thank u sooo much aunty.
keep going on..

Meeez said...

Hi Solai,

I tried this recipe today and the outcome was good, but still I didnt get you greenish brown color. Am I missing something? I followed your recipe with no alterations.

- Meeeez

strongBuddy said...

neenga etho thirunelveli-il irundhukondu eludhureengannu paathaa.. ada namma neyveli dhaanaa. Naan panruti-il irukkiren... :). In chennai i used to eat at good chettinad messes. But for the time being i am in my native place Panruti. i belong to saiva velaallaa community. So i have got all cooking utensils separate for myself in the house.
i used to depend upon the ready made masalas available in the market. but i simply don't like it.( my tongue know how the original chettinad chicken kulambu will taste.. :)). So,sensing that i can find some help in the net i googled and found your blog. I am really happily relieved.
some ingredients' names i want to know in Tamil.
cinnamon=?
Birinji leaf=?
Star anise=?
Mint leaf=?
Curry leaf=?
Fennel seed=?
Please reply here or to smurugan_tn at yahoodotcom. Thankyou.

Solai Chidambaram said...

strong buddy,
cinamon-pattai
brinji leaf-elai
mint leaf-pudina
curry leaf-kariveppilai
fennel seeds-perunjeeragam
star anise-star shaped thing tahat we get along with spices

strongBuddy said...

today i'd found some time to go over to the provisions stores and found the correct Tamil equivalent name of star anise. the girl at the billing counter told me that it's not nakshatra sombu but 'Annaachi poo'. And at last i've got them all in place to make my favorite kulambu :).

threestrands said...

tried it , the aroma was really good and so was the taste, but there was a slight bitterness , what could be the reason ?

Mohankumar.S.A said...

I tried this mouth-watering dish and sure is a treat for everyone. Its the authentic curry that I was longing for years and I got a chance to learn how to make it.

Subbu said...

supeeeeerrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks very much. With your guidance was able to prepare a wonderful chicken curry.

Solai Chidambaram said...

The measurement here is for 3 to 4 people.If you have to serve six make it 1 kg am
Nd proportionately increase the ingredients