🍛 Chettinad chicken

Name: Chettinad chicken
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: India · Tamil Nadu
Ingredients: 800 g chicken pieces; 1 tbsp fennel seeds; 2 star anise; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 1 tbsp poppy seeds; 60 g grated coconut; 2 onions, sliced; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp turmeric, 4 dried red chillies; 2 tbsp oil, salt, curry leaves

Origin: India · Tamil Nadu

400kcal

per serving · 250 g

160kcal

per 100 g

38 gProtein15 g / 100 g

22 gFat9 g / 100 g

10 gCarbs4 g / 100 g

Chettinad chicken is a fiery South Indian curry in which chicken is braised in a masala of freshly roasted and ground spices — fennel, star anise, black pepper and poppy seeds — with grated coconut. The sauce is thick, dark and aromatic, with heat from pepper and a rounded nutty sweetness from the coconut. It is served with steamed rice or flatbreads.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly4 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein15 g protein per 100 g — 38% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.

What it is made of

chickenfennelstar aniseblack pepperpoppy seedscoconut

Recipe

4 servings60 min

Ingredients

800 g chicken pieces
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 star anise
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp poppy seeds
60 g grated coconut
2 onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp turmeric, 4 dried red chillies
2 tbsp oil, salt, curry leaves

Method

Dry-roast fennel, star anise, peppercorns, poppy seeds, chillies and coconut until fragrant; grind to a paste with a little water.
Heat the oil, fry the curry leaves and onions until golden, then add ginger-garlic paste.
Add tomatoes and turmeric and cook until soft.
Stir in the spice paste and fry 2–3 minutes.
Add the chicken, salt and 200 ml water; cover and simmer 25–30 minutes until tender and the sauce is thick.

How to make it lighter

Use skinless chicken pieces to cut fat without changing the flavour.
Halve the coconut; the spices carry most of the taste.
Serve with a measured cup of rice and a vegetable side rather than several flatbreads.

History

The dish comes from Chettinad, a region of Tamil Nadu home to the Chettiar merchant community, whose cooking is known for its generous use of spices. Chettinad cooks typically dry-roast whole spices before grinding them, and the chicken curry is the region's best-known dish on restaurant menus.

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Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →