This dish is called Chettinad Rozhi or Yogurt-Marinated Chicken in a Black Peppercorn Sauce. I made this on the request of my girlfriend who wanted a spicy dish. Well, it delivered what it promised. I scaled the dish down, but I will post the original recipe here.
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2 TBSP yellow split peas (chana dal)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. black peppercorns
1 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric
6 medium sized cloves garlic
6 green or white cardamom pods
3 to 5 dried red Thai or cayenne chili's, to taste, stems removed
1 cinnamon stick (3" long), broken into smaller pieces
1 chicken (3 1/2 lbs), skin removed, cut into 8 pieces. I prefer boneless skinless thighs because they can go straight from the pan to the plate and into the belly with no muss or fuss!
2 TBSP oil (your choice)
1 tsp. black or yellow mustard seeds
1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
12 to 15 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves - I used dried curry leaves because I can't find fresh curry leaves
2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chilies, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise. Do not remove the seeds
1 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate (this is usually found in the Thai section of the super market and looks like THIS)
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut; or 1/4 cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted***
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1. Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the split peas and cook, stirring them constantly or shaking the skillet every few seconds, until they are reddish brown in patches and smell nutty, 2-3 minutes. (They will not brown evenly because there is no oil to coat them and provide a uniform heating surface)
2. Transfer the toasted split peas to a blender jar**, and add the yogurt, peppercorns, salt, turmeric, garlic, cardamom pods, dried chilies, and cinnamon stick. Puree, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, to make a sun-yellow marinade, mottled with black and red speckles.
3. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in a baking dish, and spread the marinade over them. Make sure you coat the meat completely. Refrigerate, covered for at least an hour or as long as overnight.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (similar to popcorn), about 30 seconds. Uncover the skillet, lower the heat to medium, and add the onion, curry leaves, and fresh chilies. Cook, stirring, until the onion is light purple-brown around the edges, 6-10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken pieces, marinade and all, meat side down. Sear until the pieces are light brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.
6. While the meat is searing, combine the tamarind paste with 1 cup hot water in a small bowl, and stir until dissolved. Pour this murky brown water over the chicken and allow it to pool around the meat. Turn the chicken so it is meat side down, cover the skillet, and simmer. Occasionally baste the chicken with the thin curry, until the meat in the thickest parts of the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, 15-20 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken and arrange on a serving platter.
8. Raise the heat to medium-high and simmer the sauce, uncovered, stirring it occasionally, until it has thickened, 3-5 minutes. Then stir in the coconut, pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with rice and Naan bread.
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Then end result should look like this:
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** To reconstitute the coconut, cover with 1/4 cup boiling water, set aside fro about 15 minutes, and then drain.
*** I ground all the dry spices in a coffee bean blade grinder instead of a blender. Once ground, I stirred the powder into the yogurt. That way I didn't have to deal with scraping the blender etc.
Neil
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2 TBSP yellow split peas (chana dal)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. black peppercorns
1 1/2 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric
6 medium sized cloves garlic
6 green or white cardamom pods
3 to 5 dried red Thai or cayenne chili's, to taste, stems removed
1 cinnamon stick (3" long), broken into smaller pieces
1 chicken (3 1/2 lbs), skin removed, cut into 8 pieces. I prefer boneless skinless thighs because they can go straight from the pan to the plate and into the belly with no muss or fuss!
2 TBSP oil (your choice)
1 tsp. black or yellow mustard seeds
1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
12 to 15 medium-size to large fresh curry leaves - I used dried curry leaves because I can't find fresh curry leaves
2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chilies, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise. Do not remove the seeds
1 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate (this is usually found in the Thai section of the super market and looks like THIS)
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut; or 1/4 cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted***
-----------------------
1. Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the split peas and cook, stirring them constantly or shaking the skillet every few seconds, until they are reddish brown in patches and smell nutty, 2-3 minutes. (They will not brown evenly because there is no oil to coat them and provide a uniform heating surface)
2. Transfer the toasted split peas to a blender jar**, and add the yogurt, peppercorns, salt, turmeric, garlic, cardamom pods, dried chilies, and cinnamon stick. Puree, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, to make a sun-yellow marinade, mottled with black and red speckles.
3. Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer in a baking dish, and spread the marinade over them. Make sure you coat the meat completely. Refrigerate, covered for at least an hour or as long as overnight.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (similar to popcorn), about 30 seconds. Uncover the skillet, lower the heat to medium, and add the onion, curry leaves, and fresh chilies. Cook, stirring, until the onion is light purple-brown around the edges, 6-10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken pieces, marinade and all, meat side down. Sear until the pieces are light brown on both sides, about 5 minutes.
6. While the meat is searing, combine the tamarind paste with 1 cup hot water in a small bowl, and stir until dissolved. Pour this murky brown water over the chicken and allow it to pool around the meat. Turn the chicken so it is meat side down, cover the skillet, and simmer. Occasionally baste the chicken with the thin curry, until the meat in the thickest parts of the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, 15-20 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken and arrange on a serving platter.
8. Raise the heat to medium-high and simmer the sauce, uncovered, stirring it occasionally, until it has thickened, 3-5 minutes. Then stir in the coconut, pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with rice and Naan bread.
---------------------
Then end result should look like this:
-----------
** To reconstitute the coconut, cover with 1/4 cup boiling water, set aside fro about 15 minutes, and then drain.
*** I ground all the dry spices in a coffee bean blade grinder instead of a blender. Once ground, I stirred the powder into the yogurt. That way I didn't have to deal with scraping the blender etc.
Neil
