Chettinad Chicken Curry

Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of chettinad region of South India in Tamilnadu.Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiceist and most aromatic food in India. The secret of their aroma is they always use freshly ground spices like saunf(fennel seeds),whole black pepper corns,staranise,cloves,cardamom,cinnamon,dried red chilli,nutmeg.
Mostly the dishes accompany with rice ,dosai,adai and idiyyapam.To read more about chettinad cuisine
 click here.

The recipe which i made here is also made with a blend of aromatic freshly ground spices.This curry goes very well with rice,dosai,idli's and also chapathi's.
Ingredients:
Chicken-1 kg
Onion-2 medium sized
Tomato-2
Ginger garlic paste-1 tbsp
Chilli powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Oil-1 tbsp
Curry leaves-a few stalk
To grind
Whole black peppercorns-2 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp
Nutmeg- 1 small piece broken
Cinnamon-1/2 inch stick
Cloves-1
Cardamom-2
Method:
Dry fry all the grinding ingredients until it releases nice aroma and slightly browned.Grind it into a smooth powder.
Heat oil in a pan fry the curry leaves until crisp without burning, take it out , crush it into a coarse powder.
Heat oil in a wide kadai,add the finely chopped onion and ginger garlic paste,keep the flame in slow, cover the pan and cook till the onions are soft and brown. Now add the tomatoes, cover the pan and cook till the tomatoes get mashed up.
Add the turmeric,chilli and coriander powder,saute it for a while,then add the chicken pieces,add enough water to cover the chicken. Cover the pan and cook the chicken,when the chicken is almost done add the ground paste and salt.
Cook till oil floats on top,finally add the curry leaves and serve.