Chicken Sukka

A big hello to all..:-)

I am back with the recipe of a favourite dish of ours. 

Having come to Germany with limited cargo, one of the things I chose to leave behind were my precious cookery books. Isidore Coelho's "The Chef" being one of them.The decision was made thanks to our week's pre trip 3 years ago.  I more or less came to the conclusion that sourcing basic Indian ingredients would be hard and was I right. The first few months were indeed a struggle to cook for a well seasoned chef like me. 

Over a period of time I learnt to substitute wherever possible or make do without some ingredients like fresh curry leaves. Last week when I spotted some in an asian store we regularly visit, I felt I had hit the jackpot. I grabbed whatever packs were left much to the amusement of my hubby. He couldn't figure out what would I do with so many leaves. I told him to leave that worry to me. Since then, I have been taking a leaf or two from the refrigerator just to take a whiff of the strong scent. I had forgotten what it smelt like. This week's meals have been tasting oh so different too. Thanks to the seasoning with this special ingredient.

Coming back to the chicken sukka, you may wonder how did I get the recipe? My sister has been kind enough to mail me some of my favourite recipes from the book. Thanks a ton Annie..:-)

Source: Isidore Coelho's THE CHEF

Ingredients:

• 1 tender chicken
• 1 cup scraped coconut
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp pepper corns
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 8 long dry red chillies
• 3 short dry red chillies
• 1 tbsp raw rice
• salt to taste
• vinegar to taste

For the seasoning:

• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

• Wash the chicken, cut it into small sized pieces.
• Cook it in very little water and salt to taste till tender.
• Dry roast in a pan or thava the coriander, cumin seeds, peppercorns, dry red chillies. Roast the rice too till it is puffed up and brown. Powder all together with the turmeric powder.
• Slice the onion fine. In a deep bowl mix well the cut onion, powdered masala and scraped coconut together.
• In a  deep bottomed vessel heat the ghee. When hot drop in the coconut masala mixture along with the curry leaves and fry well for around 5 minutes till you get a nice aroma.
• Drop in the cooked chicken pieces(without the water) one by one, mixing carefully so that the masala coats the pieces well. Depending on how dry you want the dish, you can add the required amount of water. I added only 6 tbsps of the chicken broth as I wanted a dry but moist dish.
• Cook for 8 - 10 minutes till done.  Adjust salt and add vinegar to taste. Serve hot with rotis or brown bread with a side serving of salad.