Chettinad Pepper Chicken: An Easy Tamil Nadu Recipe

Chettinad is a region in southern Tamil Nadu, around the town of Karaikudi. It is famous for grand old mansions built by the Nattukottai Chettiar trading families, and for bold, spicy food.

Chettinad pepper chicken is one of the region’s best-known dishes. It is a dry-style curry where the heat comes mostly from black pepper, not just red chilli.

Why freshly roasted spices matter

The secret is a spice mix you roast and grind yourself: black pepper, coriander, cumin, fennel, dried red chillies, cinnamon and cloves. Roasting brings out their oils and gives the dish a deep, toasty flavour that ready-made powders cannot match.

Many Chettinad cooks also add kalpasi (stone flower), a dried lichen with an earthy smell. You can find it in South Indian grocery shops. The dish still tastes good without it.

Tips

• Roast on low heat. If the spices burn, they turn bitter.
• Use small onions (shallots) if you can. They give a sweeter, richer base.
• Gingelly (sesame) oil is traditional in Tamil cooking. Coconut oil also works.
• Adjust the heat by changing the number of red chillies. Keep the pepper.

The recipe

Chettinad Pepper Chicken

A dry, peppery chicken curry from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, made with a freshly roasted and ground spice mix.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 4 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chettinad, Indian

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the Chettinad spice mix

• 1.5 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 dried red chillies use fewer for less heat
• 1 small piece cinnamon about 2 cm
• 3 cloves
• 1 kalpasi (stone flower) optional, small pinch

For the curry

• 800 g chicken bone-in, curry-cut
• 3 tbsp gingelly (sesame) oil or coconut oil
• 1 star anise
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 200 g small onions (shallots) sliced; or 2 medium onions
• 1.5 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt or to taste
• 0.5 cup water

Method

 

1. Dry-roast all the spice mix ingredients in a pan on low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until they smell toasty and the coriander turns a shade darker. Let them cool, then grind to a slightly coarse powder.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan or clay pot. Add the star anise and curry leaves, and let them crackle for a few seconds.
3. Add the shallots and fry for 6–8 minutes until soft and golden. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomato, turmeric and salt. Cook until the tomato turns soft and mushy.
5. Add the chicken and stir on high heat for 5 minutes so it is well coated.
6. Add 3 tbsp of the ground spice mix and the water. Cover and cook on low heat for 20–25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Take off the lid and cook on medium-high heat until the sauce thickens and clings to the chicken. Taste, add more spice mix or salt if needed, and serve hot.

Notes

Heat level: the heat comes mostly from black pepper. Use fewer red chillies for a milder dish.

Serve with: steamed rice, parotta, dosa or idiyappam.

Storage: keeps for 2 days in the fridge; the flavour gets better overnight.

Try another regional favourite: our Awadhi mutton biryani.

Cover photo: Thamizhpparithi Maari / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source).