Varutharacha Kozhi Curry (Chicken Curry)

I rarely cook varutharacha kozhi curry, mostly because I am lazy to roast and grind the ingredients. So I mostly make chicken masala, stew or fries, which is much easier to make. But last weekend I decided to go for it as my hubby was home and was ready to help me :). I really love this with traditional kerala rice.


Ingredients:
Chicken - 800 gm (Chopped into medium cubes)
Coconut - 1 1/2 cup
Potato - 2 nos small (Chopped into cubes)
Onion - 2 medium (Sliced into half length wise)
Green Chilly - 2 nos (Split into half)
Tomato - 1 medium (Chopped into square shape)
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped into fine pieces)
Garlic - 3 cloves
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 t spoon
Red Chilly Powder - 1 1/2 t spoon (1/2 t spoon for roasting & 1 t spoon for marinating)
Coriander Powder - 1 t spoon
Chicken Masala - 1 t spoon
Dried Red Chilly - 2 nos
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander Leaves - 2-3 sprigs
Salt - To taste
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch broken into pieces
Clove - 4nos.
Cardamom - 3 nos
Oil - 2 table spoon

Preparation:
Heat a pan and roast the coconut till light brown. Then add the dried red chillies, coriander powder, chicken masala and 1/2 t spoon of red chilly powder and fry for 5 mins. Keep it aside and let it cool.Grind the roasted mix by adding a little water and make a smooth paste.Marinate chicken with 1/2 t spoon of turmeric, salt, 1 t spoon of chilly powder and keep aside for 20 mins.Heat a Chatti (Earthen Pot) & add oil. Add onion, green chillies and saute well.Add ginger and garlic and saute for 5-10 seconds.Add salt, turmeric and mix well.Add potatoes and stir continuously.Then add marinated chicken pieces together with the chopped tomatoes and mix well.Cover the chatti with a lid and allow the chicken to cook over medium flame for about 10 minutes. In between open the lid and stir well.Once the chicken is cooked, add the grinded paste, 3/4 cup of water and mix well and allow to cook for another 5 minutes with the lid open.Add spices (Cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom), curry leaves and switch off the flame.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.Delicious varutharacha kozhi curry is ready. It is a great combination with rice, chappathi or porotta. This will be enough to serve 6 persons.

There are two ingredients missing here as I ran out of stock. Shallots and coconut slices.
Usually shallots will be sauted along with the onions and for tempering we use coconut slices.