Chicken sukka varuval and our Christmas cake

Before going to today's post, I would like to share the Christmas cake I prepared for Baby Jesus. I made a fruit cake and frosted it with butter cream icing.


'Happy Birthday Baby Jesus' A Birthday cake for Jesus.

Next comes our Chicken sukka.

Chukka / sukka means a dry curry in a gorgeous dark brown color.Chukka gets its color during the stir fry process. Unlike many other chicken recipes, sukka will not have any mint leaf or cilantro . But the main flavor comes from sesame oil, shallot onion , lots of chilly powder and curry leaf.

This is a fiery HOT curry and one should have the heart of steel to try this . If you are not used to the South Indian spicy food , then reduce the quantity of spices given below as per taste. But the real taste lies in the dominating red chilly-pepper combo.

It is more popular in Chettinad restaurants, a Tamil cuisine known for its spicy and delicious food.

It is always my dad's choice in the Aachi's restaurant in my hometown and hubby's favorite too:)

Here is the famous chukka varuval for you all.



Marination:
Chicken (boneless) - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp.
(ginger - 2 inch, garlic - 5 cloves)
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste (1 tsp)
Vinegar / lime juice - 2 tbsp
oil - To deep fry (200 ml)

Select red meat (boneless thigh portion) from chicken , as it will give a juicy texture whereas breast / white meat will yield a hard finish.

Wash and clean the chicken in running water. Cut the chicken into medium size cubes (approximately 2 cm).
Finally rub 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and keep aside.

Grind the ginger, garlic to a fine paste.
Marinate the chicken with all items given above (except the oil) for 2 hrs.

Heat the oil in a wok and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till it is completely cooked. keep aside.

To Temper (finishing touch):
sesame oil - 2 tbsp
fennel seeds - 1 tsp
cinnamon - 3 inch
Shallot or red onion - 200 gms
(I have used red onion here)
Salt - to taste (1 tsp)
Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon - 1/2
Finely chopped ginger - 2 tbsp
curry leaf - 2 sprig
Green chilly - 2 (finely chopped)

Chop the onion into thin long pieces.
Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds and cinnamon stick.
Let the fennel seeds become red. Put 1 sprig curry leaves and wait til they get crispy.

Slide in the onion and fry till it gets half cooked.
Add the fried chicken pieces along with salt and all the above said powders.

(Some people add 1/2 cup shredded coconut blended with 1/4 tsp cumin at this stage).

Sprinkle 1/2 cup water and cook covered for 5 minutes till all the masala powders gets blended to give a nice flavor.
Now add chopped fresh curry leaves (1 sprig), green chilly, ginger and mix well.
Stir for a minute and put off stove.

Squeeze lime juice and mix well with the sukka.

Chicken sukka is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Goes well with chapathi, roti and rice.
Perfectly pairs with curd rice also.
Serves 4 people.