A beautiful Chicken recipe that sure opens up all your taste buds in an amazingly flavorful way. This curry is spicy and only for the brave of hearts. Now the spice level can always be turned down by adding less chilies than recommended. You can always make modifications to suit your own palate, but the fact is that this is not the curry where you should really be doing this. It has to be made this way for experiencing the real taste of Chettinad.
This recipe is from the southern state of India, Tamilnadu. Chettinad chicken curry is quite fiery. I have tasted this curry as different restaurants, each different from the other. The curry always managed to win our heart. But I had never thought of making it at home until recently that we tried it as a restaurant in Bangalore, the night before we were traveling back home.
First bite of that curry and I just knew that this was the perfect Chettinad curry ever. the spice level just sent us rocking. I just knew that all the ones before this were so modified and I would highly recommend, please do not do that. This curry is amazing and is one of our family favorite too.
Every region has their own spices and generally their food has very prominent flavor of those spices, either individual or a mixture of the spices.
Coorg is a beautiful hill station in Karnataka. We visited Coorg in 2015 and the place just doesn’t have amazing scenic views, it also has one of the most beautiful Monastery that we have ever visited. Coorg serves wonderful coffee as well. Coorg has many coffee plantations and it offers coffee powder that is spiced up with cinnamon powder and cloves powder.
This Masala is a mixture of different spices and is used in Coorg Biryani and a few curries too. The masala is pretty easy to make and can easily be stored in an airtight container at a cool and dry place.
I love Achaar masala. I have never tried making achaar/pickles at home though. While in India, it was more of my Naani, my grandmother and my mother who would make achaars at home and after getting married, the recipes of Achaar are hard to follow in the snow land of New Jersey.
While trying out new recipes, I came across chicken curry, kebabs and even Biryani made from Achaar Masala and now I have a jar of this masala in my Spice cabinet. Its easy to make and makes your dishes wonderful.
The Non vegetarian recipes of Awadh are influenced from the Nawabs of Awadh, who were rulers of the Persian origin and settled in India. The dishes were always rich in nuts, saffron, spices and ghee. With time, the Persian rulers, just like the Mughals developed liking for chilies and a few other spices in India and developed new flavors and dishes. In modern times, the famous Awadhi Murgh Musallam, kebabs and Biryani are a gift from those ancient times.
Awadhi recipes are not only different from Hyderabadi cuisine but also different from the Lucknowi cuisine. Very few people understand that Awadh and Lucknow could be names of the same region, even then the recipes are very different. Awadhi recipes are more ancient and depict the flavors from Persia more than the Lucknowi cuisine.
One thing that holds a very distinct flavor, is the idea of using whole spices, as opposed to the use of a ready made masala. The masala used in Awadh Biryani has to be grounded just before you start cooking, to keep the flavor and fragrance intact. The original Lucknow Biryani does not require you to grind the spices, they keep it whole.
The Awadh Biryani can also be made in Vegetarian style and hopefully, I will try it soon and post it as well.
Sambhar Masala is generously used all around India to make Sambhar. We all know this and me trying to write this here just sounds very silly. But, the fact is that Sambhar Masala can be used for a lot of dishes besides Sambhar as well and the flavors that it produces in a dish are delicious beyond words.
I love experimenting with flavors and Sambhar Masala is one of the best “go to” masalas. Try adding it to your chicken, Idlis or Rajmas and you will be super amazed with the results.
There are loads of different companies selling Sambhar masala in the market. I still prefer making my own at home and you could try and see how simple it is. This masala can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Bissibhelebhaath is a traditional breakfast dish from the southern part of India.
