Varutharacha Chicken Curry

If u ask a person about his or her favorite dish, most of the answers will be something their mother cooks. Its a fact that everyone thinks their mother is the best cook in the world. I do think like that. May be my mother is a bit more.... that her cooking has a few fans outside the family too..
She gets requests for some dishes over n over and this chicken curry is one among them. Or may be the most popular.

On special occasions we make menu with a different dish every time but finally she ends up cooking this curry coz in between someone may have called saying the curry u cooked last time was delicious, indirectly requesting for a repeat.
As early as the first thoughts for writing a blog itself was born I had asked her to cook it for a post.
She had took the effort to cook and make the recipe available to all.

Ingredients

• Chicken  -  1kg
• Onions  -  5 nos ( medium size)
• Potato  -  2 nos (medium size)
• Garlic  -  10 pods
• Ginger  -  1 inch piece
• Tomato  -  3 nos (medium size)
• Green chillies  -  4 or 5 nos
• Coriander powder -  2 tbsp
• Red chilly powder  -  2tsp
• Tumeric powder  -  1/4 tsp
• Garam masala powder  -  1/2 tsp
• Pepper powder  -  1/2 tsp
• Coconut  grated  -  3/4 th of a coconut
• Cloves  -  5pods
• Cinnamon  -  1 inch piece
• Sauf (perum jeerakam)  -  1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves  -  1/4 cup
• Curry leaves  - 2 springs
• Shallots  -  4 nos
• Coconut oil  -  2 tbsp + 3 tsp
• Salt  -  to taste

Method

• Clean the chicken and marinate with coriander powder,turmeric powder,chilly powder,garam masala powder,pepper powder and salt. Keep aside, let it rest for 30 minutes.
• In a pressure cooker heat 2 tbsp of oil and saute the onions, ginger and green chilly , till it becomes transparent. Add tomatoes, cook till mushy add potatoes mix thoroghly.  Finally add in the chicken. Close the lid and cook with the weight on. Cook depending on the nature of the chicken you use. Mom used Legon variety and it takes long time say 13 to 14 whistles.
• By the time chicken is cooking, roast coconut. In a pan heat 2 tsps of oil, add grated coconut, garlic, cinnamon, cloves and sauf. Roast till coconut turns brown,switch of the flame and grind it to a smooth paste while its still hot.
• Now add this paste to the chicken and simmer for few minutes. Adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding water if needed. Switch of the flame.
• Again heat a tsp of oil in a pan and fry thinly sliced shallots till light brown. Add to gravy.
• Serve hot with rice or any type Indian breads.

Notes

• Be careful while roasting coconut,it should be roasted to dark brown not burned. So switch off the flame when the colour is just over golden brown, the heat of the pan will do rest of the browning. And stir continously throughout the roasting process.
• If using a nonstick pan for roasting, can avoid oil all together if u want.
• Can use dried red chilles also while tempering.