Chettinad Chicken Pepper Fry

During my visit to the land of Chettiars – Chettinad I stayed at The Bangala a heritage boutique resort for a week and scouted all around the villages of Karaikudi.

During my stay I attended the cooking class conducted by Chef Karuppiah on the Chettinad cuisine and dishes. He managed to cook Chettinad Chicken Pepper Fry, Tomato Rice, Prawns Masala and Potato Masala Fry all in less than 30 minutes.

Chef Karrupiah

I had already tasted these dishes in my stay at The Bangala and was keen to know how the mastermind managed to whip some amazing dishes for lunch. At the end of the session I was privy to the recipe for all the afore-stated dishes. As I walked into the workshop area I noticed the rustic setting with the Spice Rack and the Chettinad kitchenware on display.

Spice Rack

It was beautifully setup and arranged. There were numerous spice boxes in varied shapes and sizes.

Spice Box

Each box served a different purpose. While the above box contained various spices the one below shows the ingredients used for tempering like cumin, mustard, fennel seeds,  udad dal, chana dal etc. It was a huge wooden box that was quite heavy.

Tempering Ingredients

With all the ingredients and ground work done Chef Karuppiah showed that cooking is not a great deal and can be done in a giffy if you have a flair for it. The masalas were ground, ginger and garlic was pounded to a paste and onions, chilies all cut and available.

Masala Paste

Chettinad Pepper Chicken Ingredients

Today I share the recipe for the well known Chettinad Chicken Pepper Fry.

Ingredients

1. Chicken – skinned, washed and jointed – 1 kg
2. Aniseed – 1 dessert spoon
3. Cumin Seed – 1 dessert Spoon
4. Black Pepper Corns – 1.5 dessert spoon
5. Dried Coriander Seeds – 1 dessert spoon
6. Dried Red Chilies – 4
7. Garlic peeled  – 5 pods
8. Ginger skinned – 1 inch
9. Onions -skinned and chopped – 2
10. Tomatoes – washed and chopped – 2
11. Cinnamon – 1 inch
12. Cardamom – 2 pods
13. Turmeric Powder – 1/4 teaspoon
14. Cooking Oil – 4 dessert spoons
15. Salt – as per taste
16. Water – 2 cups

Method

1. Dry roast and grind to paste ingredients stated from 2 to 5
2. Heat oil. Fry cardamom and cinnamon
3. Add onions, fry until golden color
4. Add masala paste stated in step 1
5. Add turmeric powder, tomatoes, chicken and sufficient water for chicken to cook
6. Add salt to taste
7. When chicken is three quarters done, reduce heat and cook chicken until chicken is cooked and oil floats on top.
8. Remove from heat and serve.