Haven’t there been times when you’ve had a lip smacking meal at a restaurant, only to find that you can’t think about anything else for the next few days? Much like falling in love, isn’t it? :-)) I’ve had those moments many times, but the time it hit me the most was when I had the Alleppey Chicken Curry from Paragon Restaurant at Kozhikode. This restaurant is quite famous for its authentic Malayali flavors and good quality food. We never fail to eat there whenever we’re in Kozhikode and I’d recommend it to anyone visiting the place – I promise you’ll not be disappointed!!
So, back to the chicken curry. I just couldn’t recover from the awesomeness of the dish and was dying to eat it again and again. So I tried to replicate it at home, and after a few attempts, I got close to it; although I should mention that this is still not as good as what you’ll get there!! It is a really good substitute though, which is why I decided to call it the Paragon Style Chicken Curry!
Note: All the ingredients are readily available, but be sure about the frying time of each ingredient, it affects the overall quality of the end product.
What you’ll need: (3-4)
500 g chicken, skinless, curry cut, on the bone
3 red chillies broken into halves
2 medium onions, sliced finely
1.5 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
1.5 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 sprig curry leaves
2 Tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp peppercorns and 1” pc cinnamon – crushed
10 cashews, soaked and ground to a fine paste
½ cup thin coconut milk
½ cup thick coconut milk (increase it if you want more gravy)
1.5 Tbsp coconut oil
salt to taste
What you’re going to do:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the red chillies for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions and fry till brown and crisp, but not burnt.
2. Add the curry leaves, chopped ginger and garlic and fry till the raw smell disappears.
3. Add the spice powders and crushed spices and fry for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the chicken pieces stir well to coat with the spices and cover for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the thin coconut milk and cook till the chicken is done.
6. Add the cashew paste, and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the thick coconut milk and take off the heat.
Serve with appams, ghee rice or Kerala parathas. Make loads of these, cause you’re not going to rest till you’ve gobbled up all of the curry :-).
You can increase the amount of thick coconut milk if you want more gravy to soak up those spongy appams :-).
Do try this out and let me know how it turns out. Is there any restaurant dish that you’ve been dying to replicate at home?
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