Chicken Ghassi (South Indian Chicken Curry) - Step by Step Recipe

Chicken ghassi is very delicious and flavorful South Indian chicken curry made with coconut milk and whole spices. I tried Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe and it came out excellent. I made little variation to the original recipe by adding more spices and curry leaves. Check out original recipe here - Chicken Ghassi by Sanjeev Kapoor.

Serving for - 2 -3

Ingredients

Chicken - 500 gm (Remove skin and cut into medium sized pieces. Wash into warm water.)

To make Masala Paste

Dry grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 (Sliced)

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Dried red chilies - 5

Cloves - 4

Black peppercorns - 18-20

Cinnamon - 1.5 inch stick

Curry leaves - 15-20

Other Ingredients

Onion - 1 (finely chopped)

Coconut milk - 1/3 cup

Paprika - 1 tsp (Optional)

Tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp (I used 3/4 tsp of tamarind paste concentrate)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pinch of asafoetida

Curry leaves - 5-6

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

For Marination

Ginger Garlic paste (4 big cloves of garlic + 1.5 inch ginger piece)

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Procedure

• Grind ginger and garlic together to a coarse paste. 

• Take chicken in a bowl. Add turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and lemon juice. Mix well and let it marinate for about half hour. Meanwhile make the masala for curry.

• Dry roast coconut on low heat till it turns slight brown in color. Make sure you don't burn it. Take it aside and add 2-3 tsp of oil in same pan. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamom stick, cloves, black peppercorns, red chilies and curry leaves. Roast them nicely on low heat till nice aroma starts to come out. It may take around 2-3 minutes. Add sliced onion and saute for a minute. Switch off the heat and let the mixture cool down.

• Add this mixture in a blender along with roasted coconut and make a smooth paste by adding 1/2 cup of water. Keep it aside.

• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida and curry leaves. Let them splutter. Add chopped onion and saute till translucent.
• Add marinated chicken.

• Add ground masala paste, paprika, 2 cups of water and salt to taste. Mix well and cover the pan. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes.

• Then add tamarind pulp and coconut milk. Reduce the heat and allow curry to simmer for about 6-8 minutes.

• Switch off the heat and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve hot with any Indian flat bread or plain rice.