Chicken chettinad curry

Ingredients

• 500 gm chicken - wash and cut into medium sized pieces
• 3/4 cup tomato puree
• 4 tsp of oil
• pinch of asafoetida
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp tamarind paste concentrate
• 2 bay leaves
• salt to taste

To make Chettinad masala:

• 2 onions - cut into slices
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp dry grated coconut
• 4 red chilies
• 3-4 curry leaves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 6-7 cloves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 black cardamon
• 3-4 green cardamon
• 1 star anise

For marination:

• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp shredded ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

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Preparation

• Add lime juice, turmeric powder, shredded ginger and ground black pepper to chicken pieces in a mixing bowl. Mix well and cover the bowl. Let the chicken marinate in a refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the masala for curry. Heat 1 tsp of oil in pan. Roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, black pepper, red chilies, black and green cardamon, cinnamon, curry leaves, star anise. Roast them till nice aroma starts to come out. Take it aside and again add 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Add onion slices and saute till onions become light brown in color. Finally add dry grated coconut to it and saute for a minute. Let the mixture cool down little bit. make a fine puree of all these roasted spices along with onions. Add little water if required. Keep it aside.
• Heat up 2 tsp of oil in a pan. Add ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, pinch of asafoetida and saute for few seconds. Add marinated chicken to it and mix well. Add salt to taste and cover the pan. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Now add chettinad masala i.e ground masala and mix well. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes on high heat. Keep stirring in between. Once moisture form masala goes away and oil starts to separate, add tomato puree to it. Mix well and let curry cook on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes. Adjust the consistency by adding little water. Finally add tamarind paste concentrate and chopped cilantro. Let curry simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve hot with any kind of Indian bread or plain rice.