South Indian chicken curry

So here's a fact about me...I just cannot make a decent chicken curry. I mean one that you can whip up whenever you are stuck with some chicken and has no time to make anything fancy, one which you don't really need a recipe to follow and one which tastes great after that wee bit of effort. I have tried following umpteen recipes and procedures, but it just doesn't feel right. Of course, Ro thinks otherwise. He thinks I should just put the masalas and the chicken together in the pressure cooker and just make a curry. Although it is one of my easier methods (recipe here), it really doesn't taste awesome.

So the other day I made this 'authentic' chicken curry after a lot of trouble..and by trouble i mean dry roasting the spices, grinding, then marinating and cooking and the final outcome was just like any other boring chicken curry. I asked Ro how it was and he said 'tastes like usual' which was enough to trigger the emotions. I whined about how the chicken curries always taste so horrid and how I hate it when things don't work out fine, and of course my favourite, how I hate cooking altogether.

Ro's answer was to turn off 'Desperate Housewives' on the laptop and instead concentrate on the cooking procedure and everything would fall into place. Easy for him to say, this way at least while stirring the damn curry, I'd not be bored. So anyhoo, I also whined about it on FB and also to my mom who asked me to just follow the recipe given behind the chicken masala packets. Even Ria had mentioned the same and coincidentally, both of them mentioned the Eastern chicken masala brand. So on one of our recent visits to the Indian grocery store, I picked up one packet, and just 2 days back decided to try it out.

I must say its my favourite chicken curry so far. I mean taste wise its not out of this world or anything. But its damn easy to make and goes well with appams, rice, roti and even pulao. I have the habit of emptying the contents of the masala packets to glass containers (cos I personally hate those paper packs) and I was itching to do the same with this packet, but had to hold on till I wrote down the recipe. So pardon the horrid pictures (blaming the weather here) and the hurried post.

On a completely different note, I have started writing a food column for an expat magazine and I'm thrilled to say that the first edition is out. You can check it out here (Gorgeous Goa, pg. 18).

Chicken- 1 kg (skinned, cleaned and cut into medium size pieces- thigh, breast, legs, anything works)
Eastern chicken masala powder- 4 1/2 to 5 tbsp
Onion- 1 large, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
Ginger- 1 tbsp, peeled and roughly chopped
Garlic- 5 pods, roughly chopped
Green chillies- 2
Water- 2 cups
Slightly thick coconut milk- 1 cup
Potatoes- 2 medium, peeled and cut into cubes (optional)
Salt- to taste
Oil- 2 tbsp
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Marinate the chicken with the masala powder and salt and keep aside for about 10 to 15 minutes or longer if you have the time.
Meanwhile grind together ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste (it need not be really smooth). Keep aside.
When you are ready to cook, heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and splutter mustard seeds.
Add half of the curry leaves and onions and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Once the onions start sweating and becomes translucent, add the ground paste.
Continue sautéing on medium heat till the raw smell disappears, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Tip in the marinated chicken and fry for a couple of minutes, just to char the exterior (this step is optional)
Add the cubed potatoes and 2 cups of water, give a proper stir and cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or till the chicken is cooked through. Keep stirring in between.
Then open the lid and add the coconut milk and remaining curry leaves.
Check for salt and continue cooking without the lid for about 10 more minutes.
Once the gravy has thickened a bit, take it off the flame and serve hot with some steamed rice or appams.

Notes: Next time I would use ginger and garlic paste instead of grinding them, as I feel its an extra step. So perhaps 1 tbsp each of ginger and garlic paste and the chilli I will slit and add along with it.
The curry is spicy, but not in an overpowering way, it was just right for us. I used mild green chillies and  perhaps that was the reason. If using hot chillies, adjust according to taste or omit altogether.
The original recipe called for just 3 cups of water, I substituted 1 cup with coconut milk
Once the curry cooled down, I froze it in an air tight container. You just need to thaw it and then heat it on the hob top when ready to use.
You can use more or less any meat/chicken masala the same way or replace with about a tbsp of coriander powder, a 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (these measurements are approximate, so don't count on it entirely).