Gongura chicken recipe, How to make gongura chicken

Gongura chicken recipe is a variation of andhra chicken curry that is very popular especially in Andhra restaurants. Gongura means red sorrel leaves in Telugu. These leaves are the star of this recipe. Gongura chicken is a spicy and slightly sour tasting curry made with chicken, gongura, onions, chilies, spices & herbs.

Gongura chicken is served with hot ghee and rice. It can also be served with roti or chapati.

Gongura chicken is a very common dish in some regions of Andhra Pradesh and is consumed often. These leaves are also called as puntikura in some regions of Andhra & pulicha keerai in tamilnadu.

It is a rich source of iron and few other essential nutrients. So it is widely used in Andhra cuisine to make various dishes.

Gongura pappu, gongura mutton, gongura pachadi are some of the special dishes made with red sorrel leaves.

Gongura chicken turns out best when the sourness from the leaves is well balanced in the dish. Each home and restaurant has their own trick to balance this sourness.

In andhra cuisine, ingredients like cream are not used like in the north Indian curries.

We usually use either poppy seeds or cashews to do the job. Poppy seeds not only balance the sourness of gongura but also brings a rich, creamy & milky taste to the gongura gasagasalu. In restaurants they go the easy way and use cashew paste.

This recipe will give you a very delicious gongura chicken that is better than in restaurants.

Step-by-step photos

Preparation

1. Dry roast or sundry poppy seeds until crunchy.

2. Make a fine powder of the poppy seeds first. Add very little water and grind to smooth. Very smooth else you will get the seeds in your mouth while you eat the curry.

If your blender is unable to make a fine powder, I suggest you to use smooth cashew paste instead of poppy seeds. Set this aside.

3. Marinate the chicken with ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chili powder and salt. Set aside.

4. Pluck the leaves (discard even tender stems), wash thoroughly.

5. Heat a pan with 1 tsp oil, add these leaves along with slit green chilies and fry till they wilt off. Add little sugar as soon as you add leaves if you desire to retain the green color, but it has never helped me.

Set aside to cool. Once cool, grind the leaves & chilies coarsely. It is difficult to grind it to smooth. Grind it according to your desire smooth or coarse. Set aside.

How to make gongura chicken

6. Heat a pan with oil, add the whole spices and sauté till you get an aroma.

7. Add onions, green chilies, sprinkle some salt and fry till the onions turn brown.

8. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off.

9. Add chicken and fry on medium high for 2 to 3 mins, till the chicken turns white.

10. Pour enough water to partially cover the chicken. Add garam masala.

11. Cover and cook till the chicken is tender and fully cooked.

12. Add the poppy seeds paste or cashew paste and mix well. Let it begin to cook and bubble. Add gongura paste and mix well. You must be stirring to prevent sticking at the bottom.

13. Cook on a low flame for 3 to 4 mins or till the desired consistency is reached.

To adjust the sourness, you can add more poppy seeds paste or cashew paste.

Serve gongura chicken curry hot with rice, raw onions and ghee.

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Recipe

Restaurant style gongura chicken

Gongura chicken recipe | How to make gongura chicken

Gongura chicken is a dish prepared with chicken cooked in sorrel leaves, green chilies spices & herbs. Serve this with rice or roti.

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1x2x3x

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time30 minutes

Servings3

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )

• ½ kg chicken
• 1 ½ cups gongura leaves or red sorrel leaves
• 3 to 4 green chilies (adjust to taste)
• 1 cup onions chopped finely (about 2)
• 1 to 1½ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to suit your taste)
• 2 tablespoon poppy seeds paste or 12 cashew nuts (refer notes)
• 2 tablespoon oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt or as needed

Whole spices

• 1 bay leaf or 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon piece
• 1 pinch cumin or jeera

Marination

• ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

How to make the recipe

Preparation

• Marinate chicken with ginger garlic, turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Set this aside.
• Either dry roast the poppy seeds or sun dry them until crunchy. 
• Powder them in a blender first and then add little water and make a fine paste. 
• If you do not own a powerful blender, then you can use cashews instead of poppy seeds. 
• Make a smooth paste with little water and set aside. This helps to get a delicious gravy.
• Clean the leaves and wash them in lot of water several times. Drain off aside. 
• Saute the leaves in a tsp of oil along with green chilies. When the leaves wilt off turn off the heat.
• Cool and blend coarsely or smooth paste to suit your taste. You can blend it in the same jar used for poppy seeds.

How to make gongura chicken

• Saute cumin, cloves, cinnamon and cardamoms in hot oil in a pan, add curry leaves and onions.
• Fry until they turn golden. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell wards off.
• Add chicken and garam masala. Fry on medium high heat till the chicken turns white in color. 
• Pour enough water to cover the chicken.
• Cover and cook till the chicken is tender and soft cooked. Add poppy seeds paste and then ground gongura paste.
• Mix well and cook for about 4 minutes or till it reaches the desired thick consistency.
• Add more salt if needed.
• Serve gongura chicken curry with rice, ghee and onions.

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NUTRITION (estimation only)

Calories: 525kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 572mg | Potassium: 450mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 885IU | Vitamin C: 24.3mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 3mg

Notes

1. Set aside a part of the blended paste, check the sourness first and then if needed you add the rest.
2. To adjust the sourness, you can as well add more cashew or poppy seeds paste.
3. Balance the sourness with extra chilies.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

If you are new to cooking, follow my detailed step by step photo instructions for best results.