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Kerala-Style Chicken Curry

Here is a creamy, coconut-enriched chicken curry that takes me back to the balmy southwest breezes of Kerala’s palm-lined coast. Serve with Plain Jasmine Rice and a green vegetable.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds
One 5-ounce onion, cut in half lengthways and then crossways into fine half rings
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 1/2 pounds chicken parts, skinned
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more, if desired
1 tablespoon bright red paprika
1 teaspoon salt
15–20 fresh curry leaves, if available, or 8 fresh basil leaves, torn up
1 cup coconut milk from a well-shaken can
3 or 4 whole bird’s-eye chilies (optional)

Preparation

  1. Put the oil into a wide pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the cumin and mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, a matter of seconds, add the onions. Stir and fry until the onions have browned lightly. Add the ginger, garlic, chicken, cayenne, paprika, salt, and curry leaves. Stir for a minute. Add 1 cup water and bring to a simmer. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring now and then. Boil down most of the liquid. Add the coconut milk and, if using, float the whole bird’s-eye chilies on top, and cook, stirring on medium-high heat for a minute.

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Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the full book from Amazon.
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