Spicy and tangy Chicken curry made in a Kerala special style with tomatoes, pearl onions, curry leaves and coconut oil, this Kerala Tomato Chicken Curry will be a new favorite addition to your weekly meal plan.
We are always looking for new and tasty chicken curries to make for weekday dinners. Quick and easy is a must as I also have to make a vegetarian curry for myself, when I make the chicken curry for the boys.
All the flavors we use in Kerala style of cooking can be mixed and matched in so many different ways to come up with combinations that are so different and unique. My go-to Kerala Chicken curry is with coconut milk – Nadan Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk or this Varutharacha Chicken Curry with roasted coconut paste as the sauce base. I kinda took inspiration from both these recipes and the usual Northern Indian curries that I make, that have tomato base heave sauces.
This Kerala Tomato Chicken Curry has the tomatoes that gives it a nice and tangy flavor base which is made creamier with the coconut paste and the spices and pearl onions play along to layer the flavors in the chicken curry such that every bite is an explosion of tastes and flavors!
You guys, you’ve gotta make this for dinner one of these days and you will know what I am talking about. This will soon become your go-to chicken curry recipe. Take my work for it, will ya!
📖 Recipe
Kerala Tomato Chicken Curry
Ingredients
To Marinate:
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilie powder
- ½ lime juiced
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
To grind to a paste:
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 inch piece ginger
- 5 pearl onions peeled
- ½ cup grated coconut
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
Other ingredients:
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 10 curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 red onion chopped
- 2 Thai green chillies slit lengthwise
- 2 roma tomatoes pureed
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoon garam masala powder
- salt to taste
Don't forget to check out Step-by-step instructions with photos in the body of the post above
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken thighs and other ingredients under the "To Marinate" list for at least 30 mins and upto 2 hrs (in the refrigerator)
- Heat the oil in a kadhai and add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter and add the curry leaves, onions and green chillies.
- Saute on high heat till the onions soften.
- Grind together the coconut, garlic, ginger, pearl onions and fennel seeds with a little water to form a fine paste.
- Add this coconut paste to the kadhai with the onions. Saute till the raw smell of garlic and pearl onions are gone.
- Add turmeric, coriande rpowder and garam masala and cook for a couple more minutes.
- Add the marinated chicken pieces and toss them around so it is covered well with the coconut paste and everything else in pan.
- Add the pureed tomatoes to this along with some salt and about ½ cup water and mix well.
- Cover and cook on high heat for about 10 mins. Check and add more water (½ cup more) if it is too dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan. By this time the chicken should start releasing some moisture too.
- Cook covered for 5 more minutes. Take off the lid, give the chicken a quick stir and cook uncovered for 3-4 mins more.
- Garnish with fresh curry leaves and serve with rice, rotis or naan.
Nutrition
pushpendra dwivedi says
nice recipe muh me paani aa jata hai apke blog me visit karne ke baad khair koi baat nahi dekh kar hi jee bhar lege
C says
Delicious! Just the right spicyness too.
Manju says
Thank you ????
Adithya UN says
You could have added a vedio too