Varutharacha Chicken Curry ~ Kerala Style

 It is amazing how food brings people closer, forms really close friendships and let people create and cherish those memories through it. Most of my friends, that I have formed of my own and not necessarily because we became friends as a family, are mostly through some association of food. Whether it is about eating food, blogging about food, cooking food, sharing food or recipes or just talking about food. I have spent hours on the phone talking passionately about food with some of these friends. These conversations are not intended to be about food, but they always end up finding their way back to food. It usually starts with a simple unassuming question – “ what did you eat for breakfast?” “what are you doing for lunch” or “what is for dinner?” And now with kids in the picture, there is a whole tangent the food conversation takes – picky eater or not, is he/she going through a food phase, making healthy food for the kids and so on. The best of these conversations are those that have family / travel / childhood memories attached to it. Some of these stories are so similar to yours that it weaves in a nostalgic element into the conversation. A lot of times, after such conversations, I find myself heading to the kitchen to make what we just talked about or the memories it invoked, in an attempt to recreate them and feel the warm and fuzzies.Growing up, I saw my parents make such connections through food as well. Taking a steaming hot pot of freshly made sambar to the neighbor's and bringing back some hot spongy idlis they made was not an unusual event. All holidays and festivals revolved so much around food. Not just in making and eating them but sharing with friends, family and neighbors and also talking incessantly about it weeks before the actual holiday or festival. Going for chai to someone’s house was a very normal thing as was asking whoever came home even if it is to just say hi, if they wanted a cup of coffee or tea. If you had a handyman come over to just fix something, offering him some coffee and him accepting it was just something that happened. It took me a while to get over all that after I came to this country. Which is probably why I have made my own circle of phone buddies to relive this. This chicken curry recipe if from a dear friend of mine from whom I borrowed some of the curry she made as well, to photograph and post. Thank you, Manju! Varutharacha Chicken Curry – The recipe

• 1 whole chicken, cut up into curry sized pieces ( I usually get it done at Whole Foods, from where I buy the chicken)
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 red onions, sliced
• 2 thai green chillies, slit in half
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon chicken masala (or you can use garam masala too)
• salt
• ½ cup grated coconut
• 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 3-4 dried red chillies
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
• 7-8 curry leaves
• 2 dried red chillies

Heat the 2 tablespoon coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add the onions and green chillies to it. Once the onions are translucent, add the ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes away. Add the chicken, chicken masala and salt. Lower the heat. Cover and cook. Add a little water if it is sticking to the pan. Remember that chicken will release some water as it cooks. Meanwhile, in a saute pan, roast the coconut over medium high heat with the coriander seeds and dried red chillies. Once the coconut is medium brown in color, remove from heat and keep aside to cool. Grind this coconut mixture with a little water to a fine paste and add it to the chicken. Let it all boil together till the chicken is cooked. In a small pan, heat the coconut oil and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add curry leaves and dried red chillies. Pour this over the chicken curry. Remove from heat. Let it rest before you serve.