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.

Mutton Chukka Varuval .

Mutton chukka varuval is a famous dry curry prepared in the restaurants of TamilNadu , India. Chukka means dry curry.
It gets its gorgeous brown or almost a blackish red color due to the stir fry procedure. This dish will not have any mint leaf or cilantro . But the main flavor comes from the loads of onion and curry leaf.
It is my dad's favorite and he never fails to buy us this incredible chukka along with parotta , whenever he goes to Tuticorin.

It is a famous dish in chettinad cuisine also. But I am narrating my native method here.



Goat dry curry / mutton stir fry / mutton sukka varuval:

Ingredients:
To pressure cook:
Goat meat (mutton) - 1 lb (1/2 kg)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Shallot onion - 5
Garlic - 5 pearls
water - to immerse the meat.

To grind:
Ginger - 3 inch
garlic - 6 pearls
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp

Others:
Red onion - 2 (big)
Tomato - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch,
clove - 5
bay leaf - 2
Salt - to taste
sesame Oil - 1/2 cup
curry leaf - 2 sprig
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 3 tbsp
Shakthi curry masal powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp (to sprinkle at last)

Method:
1.Cut the meat into small pieces. Wash and clean the meat.
Add all the items given to pressure cook together and cook till we get a whistle. Then reduce flame and cook for 15 minutes.
After the pressure gets released , check if the mutton is cooked.

2. Heat oil in a wok. Add cinnamon, clove and bay leaf.
Then add the finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes red.
Now add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a while.
Then goes the tomato and fry till oil gets separated.

3.Now add all the powders , salt along with the water in the cooked meat , except the the mutton.Stir the mixture continuously till the masala becomes almost dry.

4.Then add the cooked mutton and stir fry until the fry becomes a dry curry.

Mutton chukka varuval is ready !

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with chapathi, parotta chalna or rice.
Sprinkling some lime juice and garnishing with curry leaves makes the dish more flavorful.

Note:
Addition of 1/4 tsp meat tenderizer powder while pressure cooking , makes the meat very tender and juicy.


Event:


Mutton Chukka Varuval goes a 'Side dish for chapathi', an event hosted by me.
Rush your entries before September 15, 2009.