Kothagiri Kozhi Kari Seimurai Vizhakkam

Ingredients Required for preparing Kothagiri Kozhi Kari

Chicken/ Kozhi– 500 grams

Dry Red Chilli powder/ Molagai Podi – 1 Teaspoon

Turmeric Powder/ Manja Podi – ¼ Teaspoon

Coriander Powder/ Malli Thuul – ½ Teaspoon

Cumin Powder – Jeeraga Thuul – ¼ Teaspoon

Cinnamon/ Pattai – 3 Inch Piece

Cloves/ Lavangam – 5 Pieces

Poppy Seeds/ Kasa-Kasa – ½ Teaspoon

Ginger and Garlic Paste/ Inji, Puundu Vizhudhu – 1 Teaspoon

Coriander Leaves/ Malli Ilai – For Garnishing

Green Chillies/ Pachai Mizhagaai – 2 Pieces

Big Onions/ Vengaayam – 2 Numbers

Tomatoes/ Thakkali – 2 Big

Grated Coconut/ Thaengaai – ½ Cup

Tamarind Paste/ Puli Karaichal - ¼ tsp

Oil/ Ennai – 5 Tablespoons

How to cook Kothagiri Kozhi Kari

Take a bowl and put the thoroughly washed and cleaned chicken pieces to it. In this bowl of chicken pieces add halt the quantity of chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. You can also grind the cinnamon sticks and cloves and add with the other ingredients mentioned above for marinating Kothagiri Kozhi Kari.

Let the marinated chicken to be in freezer for half an hour for the process of preparing Kothagiri Kozhi Kari.

Now take a pan and add some oil to it. In this you can put the finely chopped onions and sauté for some time. Wait until the onions lose its colour and turns to slightly golden shade.

Then add the grinded ginger and garlic paste with this onions and further sauté until all these ingredients turn to brown colour.

Next add the sliced tomatoes with this and sauté until it softens. Let me give a small tip at this point. If you wish the tomatoes to cook soon, add just a pinch of salt with the dish add you can see that the tomatoes mashes and melts away within no minutes.

Finally with this curry/ Kari you have to add green chillies and all the spices which include grinded cinnamon and cloves powder, dry red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. After adding all the spices you have to cook it in a closed pan until the oil separates above it.

So we have now prepared the curry/ Kari which seems to be a usual procedure. Now let us come to the actual Kothagiri style of Kozhi Kari cooking.

Take a pan and add marinated chicken into it. Just for greasing add a spoon of oil to it. Now sauté the marinate chicken for few minutes and you can see oil and water oozing out from the chicken flesh.

In this stage close the pan and let the chicken to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes. Then add tamarind paste, grinded coconut and poppy seeds. For a typical coorgi taste you can add the grinded coconut and poppy seeds mixture while starting to fry the chicken itself. But I personally wish to add coconut only at the last in any of my dishes. This is because if it is added in the beginning, it may give coconut oil smell to the dish.

Now in this Kothagiri Kozhi Kari we can add the curry/ Kari that we have prepared previously. And we have to add required amount of water in this stage. Some wish the dish to be dry gravy and the rest like it to be a kind of drench and crunch mixed together. If you wish the dish to be dry gravy just do not add water. Cook it in a closed pan further for few minutes. But be cautious in checking the bottom of the vessel now and then. If you wish that to be a kind of drench and crunch, then after it gets fried well like a crunchy chicken add some water and put on high flame for just few seconds and that’s it.

You can now shut off the flame and serve the Kothagiri Kozhi Kari hot with any main courses like rice, chapatti or even with Tiffin.