Bachelors chicken curry

Recipe adapted from here

Chicken- 800gms, with bone, cut into medium pieces

Onion- 1 medium, finely chopped

Tomato- 1 medium, finely chopped

Green chillies-2, slit

Curry leaves- a sprig

Ginger- 1 heaped tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Coconut oil- 1 tbsp

Thin coconut milk- 1 1/2 cups

Thick coconut milk- 1/2 cup

Garam masala- 3/4th tsp

Pepper powder- 3/4th tsp (freshly ground)

Coriander leaves- 3 tbsp, roughly chopped

To temper

Coconut oil- 1 tbsp

Dried red chillies- 2, broken in half

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Shallots- 3 to 4, roughly chopped

Garlic- 2 large pods, finely chopped

Meat masala- 1 tsp

Mix together the first set of ingredients- chicken, all the way through to coconut oil- in a heavy bottom pan. Use your hands to nicely massage all those ingredients on to the chicken pieces.

Add the thin coconut milk and place on medium heat and cook with the lid on for about 25 to 30 minutes or till the chicken is cooked.

After about half an hour, the curry would be boiling away and the chicken cooked.

Add the thick coconut milk and cook with the lid open till the curry thickens and oil starts surfacing around the edges.

At this stage, add the garam masala, pepper powder and coriander leaves. 

Check salt and add more if necessary and give a good stir and switch off the heat.

In a separate pan, heat the coconut oil and add all the ingredients to temper.

On medium heat, keep stirring till the shallots and garlic turns a light golden brown.

Pour over the chicken curry, cover with a lid and keep aside for 15 minutes for the flavours to infuse

When ready to serve, give a good stir and enjoy with idiappam, chapathi, appam or even rice.

Notes: When i started off i wasn't very sure about the recipe because there was no sauteing the onions and masala, but instead everything was just boiled together. i hate seeing pieces of onions floating in a curry. But it soon comes together once you add the thick coconut milk and the watery curry reduces to a thicker gravy. 

The trick here is to let the curry thicken properly and have the chicken pieces coated in the curry.

Make sure you use good quality coconut milk. I used the Maggi coconut milk powder.

The meat masala in the tempering is purely optional but it makes such a difference.

I renamed the curry Bachelors chicken curry because, really it cant get easier than this. Other than chopping up a few ingredients, there is not much work. Just dump everything into a pot and cook. Perfect for those after work quick dinners.

Original recipe asked for potatoes, but i ditched it. Feel free to add it at around 20 minutes into the cooking time.

Works great with beef I'm sure. I will try that soon.