Chicken Malabar Recipe originating from the Kerala region of India. It is a rich aromatic curry. The chicken is cooked in a roasted coconut sauce. This version takes a traditional curry and cooks it in a way to give a restaurant style dish.
I have used unsweetened desiccated coconut in this dish to make it accessible to more people. In Kerala fresh coconut would be used and the use of desiccated would be very much frowned upon!
Frozen, shredded coconut, which is readily available now, is a great substitute for fresh. My advice is if you can get fresh or frozen to use in the recipe, go with it. However, desiccated still creates a really good curry! The photos on here are of the curry made with desiccated coconut.
Malabar Chicken makes its way on to quite a few British Indian Restaurant menus, under the Chef’s Specials. Rather than use a base gravy for this dish though, I opted for the more traditional onion paste. By using watered down tomato puree and blending tinned tomatoes until smooth, you achieve a smoother sauce. This is the sauce you would find in a restaurant or takeaway rather than a traditional curry.
Coconut oil is used in the cooking. You can substitute for vegetable oil or ghee, but you won’t get that extra richness and coconut flavour from those. This curry after all is all about the coconut.
Another ingredient, which is used a great deal in Southern Indian cuisine, is curry leaf. If you can’t get fresh curry leaves then leave them out. You can buy fresh curry leaves in the UK readily now. Indian supermarkets often stock them, and you can buy them online. The good thing is, they freeze extremely well. Just pop the whole lot in a zip lock bag, freeze and remove for a recipe as needed. They will keep in a freezer for up to 3 months.
I have added salt to my chicken marinade. The ‘Ome Made Tandoori Masala I use is very low in salt. Some brands of Tandoori or Tikka Masala contain ridiculously high levels of salt. Have a look on the ingredients of yours. If salt is within the top three ingredients, leave out the salt in the marinade. If it’s in the top five, use with caution. Obviously the red food colouring is entirely optional.
I hope you enjoy this Chicken Malabar recipe. Be sure to have a look at some of our other recipes like this traditional chicken curry.
Chicken Malabar
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 1 kg chicken thigh or breast cut into 1” cubes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tandoori Masala
- 1 tbsp ghee or melted butter
- 1 tbsp yoghurt
- ¼ tsp red food colouring optional
Caramelised Onion & Roasted Coconut Paste
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 onions peeled & sliced
- ½ tbsp garlic & ginger paste
- 1 star anise
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 4 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut or 6 tbsp of grated fresh or frozen for a more authentic dish
The Curry
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 pieces of cassia bark 1 ½’’ long
- 1 star anise
- 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
- 6 – 8 fresh curry leaves
- ½ medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- 2 green finger chillies sliced (add more for extra heat or less if you like it milder)
- 1 full portion of the caramelised onion paste
- 1 tbsp mix powder or mild curry powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp of tomato puree thinned down with around 300ml of water
- 400 g tinned chopped tomato blitzed smooth
- The cooked tandoori chicken
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp sugar optional
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander chopped
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Rub salt over the chicken and then sprinkle over the lemon juice. Add the tandoori Masala and mix to evenly coat the chicken. Add the yoghurt, ghee/butter and red food colouring if using and mix to coat all the chicken. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour or up to 24 hours.
Cook The Onion, Spice & Coconut Paste
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the spices and once sizzling add the onions and fry on a moderate heat, stirring often, until golden.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the coconut and fry until a light golden colour, stirring so that it doesn’t burn
- Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Add everything to a food processor or blender and blitz to a very smooth paste. You may need to add a little water to give it some help.
Cook The Chicken Tikka
- Remove the chicken from the fridge around 45 minutes before cooking and allow to come up to room temperature.
- Heat a grill on a high temperature. Place a roasting pan or deep baking pan under the grill to get hot. Once hot add the chicken and marinade. Put under the grill for around 8 minutes or until it is starting to char around the edges.
- Remove the chicken from under the grill and turn the pieces. Put back under the grill for another 8 minutes or until charred in places. Remove from under the grill. Keep any cooking juices to add to the curry. Don’t worry if the chicken isn’t completely cooked through it will continue to cook as it cools and once it is added to the curry.
Cook The Curry
- Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan or karahi. Add the whole spices and once they are sizzling and popping add the curry leaves followed by the onion. Fry on a moderate heat until the onions are light golden colour.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste, fry for 30 seconds
- Add the green chillies and stir in followed by the onion paste.
- Combine everything in the pan and add the mix or curry powder and the Kashmiri chilli powder. Cook gently for around 40 seconds
- Add the tomato paste and let cook down to a thick paste.
- Add the tinned tomato and bring to a simmer.
- Add the cooked tandoori chicken and juices and stir to combine. If the sauce is a little thick add water for the consistency you like (it should be a reasonably thick sauce)
- Cook on a gentle simmer for 15 minutes before adding salt to taste, sugar and Garam Masala. Cook for a further 5 minutes before adding the coriander and serving