South Indian
Chettinad Chicken Curry
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Chettinad Chicken Curry is South Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
The quantities follow this count.
How to cook it
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Dry roast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dried red chilies, peppercorns, cinnamon and star anise in a pan for 3 minutes until fragrant, then add the grated coconut and roast 2 minutes more until it turns light golden.
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Cool slightly and grind to a smooth paste with a splash of water. This is the Chettinad masala.
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Heat the coconut oil in a heavy pot, pop the mustard seeds, then add half the curry leaves and let them sizzle a few seconds.
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Add the chopped onion and fry until golden, about 8 minutes, then add the ginger garlic paste for 1 minute.
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Add the chopped tomato and turmeric and cook 6 minutes until the tomato breaks down, then stir in the ground Chettinad masala and bhunno 8 minutes until the raw smell is gone and the oil rises to the top.
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Add the chicken and sear 5 minutes, turning to coat every piece, then add the water, cover and simmer 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the gravy has thickened.
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Finish with the remaining curry leaves and salt, and serve hot with rice.
Serve it with
A South Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Chettinad Chicken Curry, read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
A course labelled with another kitchen's name comes from a cuisine in the same family, which is where this plate usually borrows it from.
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Chettinad Chicken Curry carries coconut. It is free of the remaining 9 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | Yes | Adai (Tamil Nadu Multi-Lentil Dosa) |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Estimated, per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 31 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 480 mg
- Saturated fat
- 8 g
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.
When to cook it
Chettinad Chicken Curry takes about 55 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
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Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.