This is one of my mother-in-law's specialties. She's a Chennai lady and calls it poricha kari, which literally translates from Tamil into fried meat. She made it using beef cut into very small pieces. It can be made with lamb or chicken too. In my mind, I call this dish green chicken, due to the colour of the gravy. The sheer simplicity of preparation is very attractive. None of that fry this first, then add that, and then sautee for a few more minutes and so on. It can be whipped up in a jiffy and the results are delicious.
Ingredients
Chicken - 1 kg, jointed (I used 4 full chicken legs for this recipe)
Peppercorns - 1 level tbsp
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 6 pods
Green chillis - 3
Onions - 200 gms
Coriander leaves - 8 sprigs
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder - a dash (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Wash and drain the chicken. I like to do a first wash, and then soak the chicken in water and some vinegar for about half an hour. This makes it very clean and removes any raw, meaty odor. Wash again and drain in a colander.
In a food processor, blend the peppercorns, add the ginger, garlic and green chillies. Blend for a minute or so and finally, add the onions and coriander leaves.
Put all the chicken pieces into a pan. Pour the blended mixture on top of the chicken. Add salt and oil. Mix well. My mother-in-law always added a dash of turmeric powder to this dish. I feel it is optional. Then again, it is her dish and I should adhere to her ways. In any case, I leave it to you to use the turmeric or not.
Put pan on the stove, bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to simmer and cook till done. There is no need to add any water to this dish. The chicken will release moisture while cooking. When done, it should be a thick curry and not watery. If it needs to be dried out, remove the lid and turn up the heat so that the curry dries out.
Green chicken can be eaten with naan, chappathis, neyypathals or any other flat bread.
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