Naadan Kozhi Curry a.k.a Traditional Kerala Chicken Curry

Who does not love a good naadan kozhi curry? I'm talking brilliant balance of spices mingling in tenderly cooked chicken and letting off just a hint of coconutty goodness And as if that wasn't enough, this curry pairs extremely well with plain white rice, kerala parotta, chapathis, dosais, Appams, you name it. The list of ingredients may look a tad long, but it really isn't much and you'll be glad you tried it. So go on, you know you want to :)

1) For the marinade: 

Chicken (with bone) - 1 kg

Chili powder -  1 tablespoon

Turmeric -  1/2 tablespoon

Pepper - 1/2 tablespoon

Chicken Masala - 1/2 tablespoon

2) For the masala:

-Onions (sliced) - 2 big

-Green Chilis (slit) - 3 

-Ginger - 1 inch

-Garlic - 4 pods

-Garam masala - 1 tablespoon

-Curry Leaves - 3 sprigs

-Mustard - 1 teaspoon

-200 ml thick coconut milk
-Oil for tempering/sauting

2  a)To be fine ground and dry roasted:

-Cinnamon - 1 inch

-Cardamom - 2 pods

-Clove - 5

-Jeera powder - 1 teaspoon

-Chicken masala powder - 1 tablespoon

-Marinate the chicken in the mix of ingredients mentioned in 1) for at least half an hour. In the meanwhile, get the masala mentioned in 2) prepped.

-Heat oil, sputter mustard and curry leaves.

-Add sliced onion and sauté till transparent. Pound the ginger and garlic into a paste and add to onions. Add green chilis and sauté for 6-7 minutes.

-Add ground spices mentioned in 2 a) and cook till the masala has been cooked.
 -Add marinated chicken, half cup water and salt to taste and cover and cook for fifteen minutes.

-Add coconut milk and cook for another 5 minutes on low flame.
- Switch off the flame and leave it covered for 5 minutes, before devouring in copious amounts.