The recipe credit goes to my best friend Vijitha, who can cook some seriously delicious South Indian food. She had cooked this chicken curry in a cast iron pan, which gave a gorgeous caramelized color. So if you have one, surely use that. But even without a cast iron pan, the curry comes out rustic and so hearty.
INGREDIENTS needed for the Slow Cooked Chicken in Coconut Milk:
Chicken cubes (preferably with a mix of boneless and bones-in) : If you want to use boneless only, then use only chicken thigh as it has fats which helps to keep the chicken pieces juicy. Ginger, garlic and fresh curry leaves - I like to marinate the chicken with finely chopped garlic, ginger and fresh curry leaves. You can use store bought garlic ginger paste too. Onion and Tomato - The gravy is onion and tomato based that is cooked to softened before adding the marinated chicken pieces. Spices - Fennel seeds and Fennel powder adds a lovely aroma to the curry, and it goes so well with the coconut milk. Apart from that, you need green cardamoms, coriander powder, chili powder and turmeric powder. Coconut Milk - An entire can of coconut milk is used and based on how much gravy you would prefer, you can add more coconut milk or water to thin out the consistency of the curry. Coconut Oil for the best coconut flavor. You can use other kind of vegetable oil too if you don’t have coconut oil.
STEPS to prepare the Coconut Chicken Curry
1- Finely chop few garlic cloves, fresh ginger and fresh curry leaves. I prefer using fresh as it gives the best aroma. 2- Use a mix of boneless and bone-in chicken pieces and marinate the chicken pieces with the chopped garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Also add lemon juice and season with salt. I prefer to marinate chicken overnight or at least for 4 hours. 3- I prefer to cook the chicken in a cast iron pan or pot, as it really helps to caramelize the color of the chicken gravy. Heat coconut oil and then add fennel seeds along with green cardamoms. Let it sizzle for a while. 4- Scatter the sliced onion, turmeric powder and salt. Let the onion cook for a while. 5- Then add the diced tomato, the ground spices and let the onion and tomato softened down to a jam like consistency. 6- Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir it around to mix everything evenly. 7- Let the chicken pieces sear for a few minutes. 8- Pour the coconut milk, few more fresh curry leaves, and mix it around. Bring the heat to medium low, cover the pan and let it slow cook for 30 to 40 minutes. 9- You will notice the color of the chicken curry changing to dark caramelized color. The texture will also change to thick, creamy consistency. Check for salt once done and add more if needed. You can add a few more fresh curry leaves at the end, and a little bit of lemon juice to balance the taste. Its true chicken doesn’t take that much time to cook, but in this particular dish, the slow cooking in coconut milk makes the chicken pieces extremely tender. Melting in mouth delicious! I made this curry several times, and it turns out delicious every time. The curry has a lot of gravy, which is so good with rice. There are several different kinds of chicken curry with coconut milk, but this one is truly unlike any I ever tasted. It’s a keeper, and you will love it too.
I love South Indian flavored dishes! If you do too, and then try these dishes below:
Kerala Style Fish Curry Coconut and Lemon fish stew Cauliflower White Beans coconut Stew Chicken Ghee Roast
