Kuttanadan Chicken Roast

For any Keralite, you say Kuttanad, it means the backwaters. It is such an amazing place to go for a house boat ride, where you see just kilometers and kilometers of water... I had gone there with my mother's family six years back. The vehicle ride up and down was some 6 hours each, a total of 12 hours just sitting in the vehicle, and I wouldn't want to comment on the sad state of our Kerala roads! Pathetic they are, especially during the rainy season where you can literally grow plants in the big potholes right in between the roads! Not talking too much about that... so after the backbreaking trip to reach there, the three hour boat ride was such a relief... we had some awesome time. The pictures are old, but then the memories are just as fresh in my mind. Since today the post is a Kuttanadan affair, I thought I must share some sights with you before proceeding to the recipe...



Now... I wouldn't claim that this roast is authentic. One night, I really wanted to make something different with chicken and somehow "Kuttanadan Chicken Roast" was continuously echoing in my mind. Despite me trying to shoo it away, it wouldn't go. Out comes my faithful smartphone with the Wifi on and the maha Google search on... I browsed through a lot of recipes, but unfortunately it sounded like the roast that I usually make and I was mightily disappointed. After referring to two links which I thought sounded authentic, I put together my own version of it by making a mishmash. Really saying, we enjoyed it with chapathis to licked plates, it tasted that awesome. Do read through the notes if you do intend to make it, because there were some adjustments I had done to some of the ingredients, which wouldn't give the real taste... I thought putting down those notes would help me while I refer to them sometime in the future. Meanwhile, if anybody among my readers are from Kuttanad or that area and know how to make it with its full authenticity, please do let me know... I would love to feature you as a guest on my blog, for sure!!! :)

Kuttanadan Chicken Roast
Serves 4
Recipe developed from here and here


Ingredients:

For marination:
800 gm chicken, cut into small pieces
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
3/4 tsp fennel powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vinegar

For masala:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp ghee
5 large onions, thinly sliced
3 green chillies, slit
3/4 tsp ginger paste
3/4 tsp garlic paste
1 medium tomato, chopped

For final tempering:
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
Curry leaves, as required

Method:

Marinate the chicken with the marination ingredients and set aside for half an hour. 

Heat oil and ghee in your pressure cooker and add the onions and slit chillies. Saute until soft. Add in the ginger and garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone. Add the tomato and cook till all mashed up. Add the chicken along with the all the marinade and mix well. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for one whistle. Switch off and allow the pressure to go by itself. 

Heat a large fry pan and brush the oil. Carefully put in the cooked chicken and masala in the fry pan and cook on medium to high flame till the water evaporates and the masala gets coated. Adjust seasoning, garnish with curry leaves and serve warm!!!

Notes:

1. I guess the real flavor comes from using shallots than normal onion. Next time, I am definitely going to use half shallots and half onions, as I do not have the patience to sit and peel shallots!!! Hehe...
2. I did not dry the masala too much to make it brownish. For the roast, it is suggested to cook till the chicken and masala becomes really brown. I would have loved to, but my family needs masala so I left it half way through.

And this one for the finishing touches... :)


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