Spicy Chicken Gravy - Kozhi Thokku

Serves 4
      I'm back to blogging after a short break.After a real long time we got to visit some beautiful places and taste different food.I really want to share about the food ,or actually the Bakeries that I found in Porto,a small town in Portugal.I had some  muffins there which tasted exactly like the cakes that I've tasted in small 'tea kadais'(roadside eats)  found in southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala .I wonder if Vasco da gama brought it with him to India or carried it back with him from India.The bakeries are a lot like the ones we find in our small towns,they have an assortment of baked goods,both savories and sweets displayed in their big windows.One can pick one or more of each kind according to their taste and they were not at all pricey. I found something that looked like our samosas,the shell  tasted exactly like our samosas but the filling was made of prawns.Most of the savories had crusts similar to the ones that we make but the fillings were made of different sea foods. I really wanted to click a lot of pics but travelling with a toddler can be a real challenge,so we were always on the move. But it has its upside too,previously when hubby and I used to travel we found that people were pretty aloof,most of them thought that we were students .But with a toddler i was really surprised with the amount of help we were offered.Everyone was ready to lend a helping hand, i was really touched.Our next stop was at Lourdes ,I'll bug you with that in a different post :)
      Coming to today's post, I'm totally a chicken person ,I simply love it. My blog looks so much like a pure vegetarian blog with no non-veg recipes.I had quit eating non veg for a short time,just checking my will :) This is my all time favorite chicken dish,it's one that I prepare when I have guests at home.Mainly because of its ease in preparing and it's a reliable recipe.It's a dry spicy gravy and tastes great with almost any mildly spiced rice or roti or idli. But I somehow love to have it with rice & sambar,tastes fabulous when paired up with plain rice & drumstick sambar.




You'll Need:
To pressure cook:
Chicken - 400 g
Tomato - 1 big
Ginger Garlic Paste from - 7 -8 cloves of Garlic and ginger - 2" piece
Red Chilli powder - 1.5 - 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - 1 tsp or as needed
For Sauteing:
Oil - 3 -4 tsp
Onion  - 1 big( sliced thinly lengthwise)
Curry leaves - 3-4 sprigs
Green Chilli - 3-4(slit)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp(chopped)
For the Spice powder - Dry roast & Grind:
Cloves - 5
Black Pepper corns - 8 - 10
Green Cardamoms - 2
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon - 1" stick
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - 3 - 4

Method:
-Dry roast all the ingredients for the spice  powder together on a low flame and grind to a fine powder.
-Grind the tomatoes to a fine paste.Mix the ground tomatoes,red chilli powder,ginger garlic paste,salt and turmeric powder well.Add the chicken pieces to this and mix well.Let it marinate for 20 -30 minutes.
-Then add it to a pressure cooker with 1/2 - 1 cup of water .Let it cook for one whistle on medium flame and simmer for 5 -6 minutes or until when the chicken is cooked and soft.If you want a thinner gravy ,you can add more water.
-To a pan add the oil when it splutters add the slit green chillies and curry leaves.When they splutter add the onions and a pinch of salt.Saute until the onions are well browned.
-Add the contents of the pressure cooker and the spice powder and mix well.Let the mixture cook on a low flame for 5 minutes.Add the chopped coriander leaves and mix.Check for salt adding some if needed.If you want a thick gravy then let it cook until all the water evaporates and mixture gets dry. Else you can take it off the stove.

Thanks for stopping by.Happy Cooking !