CHETTINAD CHICKEN ROAST
Summer has been a mixed bag, this season the blowing hot, blowing cold kind……somehow, trying out new recipes has taken a back seat, let’s blame it on the heat index for now. Who wants to get into that elaborate cooking when all you want is to just rush in & out of the kitchen, as fast as you can or eat celery & raw carrots for the rest of your life ? 😉 😛 Yet, the desire to touch base with the spicy food you grew up with, is an endless aching need.This morning, I woke up determined to make this Chettinad Chicken roast, irrespective of the heat index & get done before the sun’s blazing rays hits earth….needless to say the aroma from the spices is wafting heavily in the humid air & my closet smells of spices……I will think about work week when it comes to Monday, when my colleagues shift uneasily in their seats when I walk in with my clothes smelling like “Spice Central”, for now Chettinad Chicken Roast it is !!! No change in plans for the weekend, I need my spices !!
Chettinad cuisine is globally celebrated ,among those of us who love spicy South Indian food.Chettinad is a land of Master Chefs, they can create amazing dishes with their spice blends & I tried to recreate one such dish in my kitchen today, a flood of memories rush each time I stir the ingredients, the aroma takes me back in time, when the biggest stress factor was which dish to choose among the Chettinad menu displayed on your restaurant table…..back to when you enjoyed food for it’s deliciousness, not for a second thinking about your diet or your work-out regimen.Enjoy!
Ingredients
3 tbsp 3 Oil
1 large 1 Onions sliced thinly( or 2 medium)
3 3 Green Chillies slit lengthwise
A handful Curry Leaves
1 tbsp 1 Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tsp 1 Turmeric Powder
4 4 Chicken – breast pieces
Cilantro/ Coriander Leaves – for garnishing
Salt- to taste
1/2 1/2 Lemon juice (optional)
- For the Chettinad Masala:
3 tbsp 3 Coriander Seeds
1 tsp 1 Cumin Seeds / Jeera
5 5 -6 Dry Red Chilli
1 tbsp 1 Fennel Seeds / Saunf
3 3 ” Cinnamon sticks
2 2 ″ Kal paasi / Black Stone Flower
4 4 Cardamom
2 tsp 2 Black Pepper corns
Star Anise
Directions
- Dry roast the ingredients for the Chettinad masala or with a tsp of oil in a wok & blend it fine once it’s cooled down.Set aside.
- In the same wok add oil, when it is warm add the sliced onions & green chilies & sauté till they become translucent.To this add the turmeric powder & the ginger garlic paste.Stir till the raw smell disappears.
- Now add the clean & cut chicken pieces to the above with salt to taste, stir them all together keep covered with a lid, let the chicken cook in it’s own steam, at this point one may squeeze half a lemon juice into the mix, if you like the chicken with a little zing to it, like I do wink emoticon
- When the chicken is partially cooked, add the blended Chettinad masala that you have prepared fresh, stir the powdered contents well ,so it coats the chicken evenly, close the lid & allow it to cook for another 10- 15 minutes.
- Remove from the stove, garnish with Cilantro leaves on top & serve hot with rice or flat breads.Enjoy your weekend