Curry leaves. Green chilies. Tamarind. Coconut. And a bold spice mix. Kerala masala is what makes this one special. Big flavours. If you are looking to give your tastebuds a kick nadan chicken curry is a good place to start.
Black pepper is the backbone of Kerala chicken curry
This isn’t a run of the mill curry. And the spicing isn’t run of the mill either. Kerala chicken curry is a little different. It’s the pepper that does it. Think garam masala. Now think garam masala with bite. Wonderful, peppery bite. That’s what’s going on here. This is a complex mix. Haunting flavours. Cardamom. Cinnamon. Star anise. Fennel seed. Warm spices. But with attitude. Black pepper attitude.
Toasting and grinding spices makes a difference
If you usually use pre-ground spices you are in for a treat. There’s a world of difference here. Dry roasted whole spices. Freshly ground. That’s a whole different league of tasty. Normally I’d tell you to toast up a batch of spices and grind to order. That’s usually good advice. But this time it doesn’t work. It’s a small batch. There’s only one star anise and one piece of cinnamon. So you need to grind it all up to make sure you get the balance right. Roasted and fresh ground spices. You’ve heard about it. Now try it. It’s amazing. More work. Sure. But this blog isn’t ever about easy. It’s about going for gold. I can smell my spice mix from across the kitchen as I write this. When was the last time that happened to you?
Fresh curry leaves matter
I put curry leaves first up above. There’s a reason. Fresh curry leaves are pretty important in this dish. Really important actually. Most herbs work dried. Different. But they still offer something. Curry leaves are not like that. Think of dried cilantro. There’s no taste at all. Dust. Dried curry leaves are a bit better. Maybe a 1 out of 10 on the flavour scale. If I’m feeling generous. Just can’t get fresh? Don’t let that stop you. It will still be good. Just won’t be the same. The spice mix is amazing. It will totally carry the dish. Not exactly what I intended. But tasty. If you want the real deal though try to find fresh. Where I am it’s not that hard. You do have to work a bit. But they are around. Just have to hunt. If you live in a town with a South Indian restaurant go ask them. They will have them. Tell them you are making nadan kohzi. They will be impressed. Beg. It’s worth it. And when you get them, they freeze pretty well. Way better than dried…
Hotel style kerala chicken curry
Hotel style curry gravy is the other thing that’s different about this curry. You probably know traditional Indian cooking. That’s pretty much everything out there. All the books. The whole internet. Traditional is fantastic. I love it. Grew up eating it. My comfort food is Bengali chicken curry and dal. This is different. But similar. It’s a way to prep a foundational base gravy that lets you make curries on demand. You make a bunch of the hotel base gravy and portion it out. You can freeze it for later. Hotel style on demand. Regular restaurant technique is conceptually similar. But it comes at it a totally different way. It’s good. It’s easy. And it works. Hotel style is about taking it up another level. Restaurant style is what they serve in your local Indian joint. Hotel style is what they serve at the Indian restaurants you can’t get a reservation at. You get all the depth of flavour from slowly browned onions like traditional Indian cooking. But with the lush sauce of restaurant style. The best of both worlds. Hotel style Kerala chicken curry. Nadan kohzi. Doesn’t matter what you call it. What matters is now you’ve heard of it. Try making it. I think you’ll like it. A lot.
