Kerala Chicken Curry (Nadan Kozhi Curry)

This Kerala Chicken Curry with coconut milk is simply delicious, bursting with flavors of authentic Kerala cuisine. Cut chicken pieces are marinated with black pepper, salt, lemon juice, turmeric and garam masala before cooking with aromatics like onions, ginger and garlic. It is finished with a generous amount of coconut milk and a special tempering.

The South Indian state Kerala is a popular destination for tourism. Its lush green landscapes, abundant coconut trees, spice farms, mountain ranges, beaches, and backwaters speak everything rich about Kerala. Food is the most interesting part and everyone who travels back carries fond memories of the amazing food enjoyed here.

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About Kerala Chicken Curry

This Kerala Chicken Curry with coconut milk is a traditional dish and is more commonly known as the Nadan Kozhi Curry. Some of the significant features of Kerala Cuisine include the usage of really fragrant whole and ground spice blends, coconut oil, fresh curry leaves and coconut (includes raw coconut or coconut milk).

Every dish is made from scratch including blending the spices and extracting coconut milk. This is what makes these dishes top notch. 5 star restaurants serving authentic Kerala foods also follow this for a burst of flavors. However this recipe gives you plenty of options to make it easily at home.

India being a diverse nation has numerous regional cuisines and a Chicken curry with coconut milk (or raw coconut) is made in so many ways. Chettinad Chicken, Chicken Kurma and Kolhapuri Chicken are a few to mention. The spice blends and the cooking fats used are different in every cuisine & this makes the curry taste and smell different. So what is so special about Kerala Chicken Curry?

It is the use of fresh curry leaves, unrefined coconut oil, limited to no usage of tomatoes, generous amount of black pepper, fennel seeds and a unique Kerala spice blend makes this dish very different. Raw coconut is used in different ways – some blend it and add, some people add sliced coconut pieces and a lot of people use coconut milk like the way I used in this post.

That being said, a Kerala Chicken Curry can also be made without coconut and the dish still tastes wonderful due to the generous amount of spices used. This dish is best served with steamed white rice, Brown rice, Ghee Rice, Chapati, Ney Choru, Roti or parathas.

Photo Guide

Step by step photo Instructions

1. Marinate chicken with garam masala, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice and black pepper. Cover and keep aside until you prepare the rest. If you want you may use store bought garam masala and leave out making the spice blend here. Dry roast the whole spices on a low to medium heat until aromatic and crisp. Cool them and make a fine powder. Pour little water and make a paste of pouring consistency. Keep this aside.

2. Add coconut oil to a hot pan and saute sliced onions till lightly golden. Stir in the ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute until the raw smell is gone. If you want add tomatoes at this stage and cook down until they lose the raw smell. I don’t use them in this recipe.

3. Add the marinated chicken and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a high flame. Pour the ground garam masala paste and mix well.

4. Cook covered on a medium to low flame till the chicken is tender and cooked completely. I didn’t pour water to cook the chicken, the moisture in the spice paste was good enough. But if your pan is too dry, you may add a splash of hot water. When the chicken is tender/ cooked, pour coconut milk. If you are using homemade fresh extracted, use thin coconut milk to prevent splitting.

5. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. You should have a thick consistency like seen in the picture below. Taste test and adjust salt and black pepper if you want. Heat a small pan with coconut oil for tempering. Add sliced onions/shallots and fry till they turn pink. Add curry leaves and broken dried red chili. When they turn crisp. Switch off the stove.

7. Pour this hot tempering over the Kerala Chicken Curry.

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Recipe Card

Kerala Chicken Curry (Nadan Kozhi Curry)

5 from 193 votes

Make this easy and delicious popular Kerala Chicken curry under 50 mins. Serve it with ghee rice, coconut rice, appam or any flatbreads like parotta or chapati.

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Prep Time30 minutes minutes

Cook Time20 minutes minutes

Total Time50 minutes minutes

Servings3

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

Marinade

• ▢ ½ kg (500 grams) chicken (bone-in cut preferred or use boneless thighs or drumsticks)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (less spicy kind like Kashmiri or byadgi)
• ▢ ⅓ teaspoon salt (adjust to your preference)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper

For the curry

• ▢ 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
• ▢ ¾ cup onions chopped or sliced finely (1 large)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ teaspoon each grated)
• ▢ ½ cup tomatoes (chopped, optional, read notes)
• ▢ ¾ cup coconut milk (thin milk)

For garam masala (or read notes for substitute)

• ▢ 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds (or ¾ tablespoon ground coriander)
• ▢ 1 inch cinnamon piece (or ¼ tsp ground cinnamon)
• ▢ 4 cloves (or ⅛ tsp ground cloves)
• ▢ 2 pods green cardamom (or ¼ tsp ground green cardamom)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper corn (or ½ teaspoon crushed black pepper)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (or ¾ teaspoon fennel powder)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds (optional, or ¼ tsp ground cumin)
• ▢ 2 to 4 dried red chilies (or ¼ to ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder)

Tempering (optional)

• ▢ 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ▢ 1 dried red chili (break and remove the seeds)
• ▢ 3 to 4 pearl onions sliced thinly (Or 3 tbsps sliced shallots)
• ▢ 1 sprig curry leaves (pat dry)

Instructions

• ▢
  Marinate chicken with chili powder, salt, turmeric, pepper and garam masala. Keep aside until you prepare the rest.

Make Kerala Masala

• ▢
  On a low flame dry roast coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper and red chilies until they begin to smell aromatic.
• ▢
  Remove them to a plate and roast fennel seeds along with cumin until both turn aromatic. Add these to a grinder or spice jar and make a fine powder.
• ▢
  Pour 3 tablespoons water and blend to a smooth paste. Keep this aside.

Make Kerala Chicken Curry With Coconut Milk

• ▢
  Heat coconut oil in a pan. Add onions and saute till they turn golden. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone, for a minute. Add the tomatoes if using and cook until they break down and lose the raw flavor.
• ▢
  Transfer the marinated chicken and saute on a slightly high flame till it turns white in color, for about 3 to 4 mins.
• ▢
  Stir in the prepared kerala spice paste (or garam masala mixed with 3 tbsps water). Cover and cook on a low flame till the chicken is fully cooked and tender. If the pan is too dry, pour ¼ cup hot water.
• ▢
  Pour the coconut milk, stir well and let simmer for 5 mins until slightly thick. Taste test to add more salt or black pepper.

Optional

• ▢
  Heat a small pan with coconut oil and fry onions till they turn pink. Add curry leaves and red chili. When the leaves turn crisp, remove and pour this over the Kerala Chicken Curry.
• ▢
  Serve it with ghee rice, coconut rice, appam, parotta or with chapati.

Notes

1. I prefer to use 1 tbsp lemon juice to marinate. 
2. Traditional Kerala chicken curry is made without tomatoes but if you want you may add them. 
3. The combination of spices mentioned in the recipe impart the best flavors. But they can be substituted with 1 teaspoon store bought garam masala + ½ tablespoon coriander powder +¼ to ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder.
4. Store bought garam masala varies in strength so adjust accordingly.

Source: Julie

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts

Kerala Chicken Curry (Nadan Kozhi Curry)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 610 Calories from Fat 423

% Daily Value*

Fat 47g72%

Saturated Fat 25g156%

Cholesterol 125mg42%

Sodium 138mg6%

Potassium 698mg20%

Carbohydrates 14g5%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 4g4%

Protein 34g68%

Vitamin A 785IU16%

Vitamin C 87.9mg107%

Calcium 69mg7%

Iron 4.7mg26%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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