Chicken Dry Roast or Chicken Varattiyathu

CHICKEN VARRATIYATHU : Chicken cooked in rich spicy masala with almost dry gravy. Its an authentic kerala dish. It tastes best with rice, tapioca, plain bread, chappati , poori. It tastes good even with dosa or idili. I can eat it with almost anything. Yum!

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken – 1100 gm ( I have used fresh chicken)

Red Onion – 5

Ginger – 1” piece

Garlic clove – 3 to 4

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Chilli Powder – 3 tablespoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tablespoon

Pepper – ½ tablespoon

Corriander Powder – 5 tablespoons

Garam masala powder –  1 tablespoon

Fennel seed powder or crushed – ½  tablespoon

Oil – 2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces. Make a paste of garlic and Ginger. Add half of the paste to the chicken along with salt and marinate for an hour or so (minimum 20 minutes). Place the marinated chicken in a heavy bottomed pan and cook till done. The water will ooze out from the chicken, so do not add any water while cooking.  In the mean time slice the onions. Take a heavy bottomed pan and place it over the stove. Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds. Add the onions and sweat them. Add the rest of the ginger garlic paste and curry leaves and sauté. Sauté the mixture till the onions become light brown. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, Fennel seed powder and garam masala powder and sauté for 2-3 minutes on low flame.  Add the chicken along with the water that has oozed out from the chicken. Mix it well and add pepper powder. Cook the chicken in the gravy till it becomes dry. If you want to have gravy, you may stop cooking before it gets fully dry. Make sure you check the chicken and keep mixing so that the chicken would not get burned.  You may also garnish the chicken with roasted coconut pieces.

Happy Cooking!!!