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South indian chicken drumstick curry
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 15 chicken drumsticks, skinned, with shallow slits cut into the meat
- 1tsp ground turmeric
For the spice masala
- 1tbsp cumin seeds
- 1tbsp coriander seeds
- 2tsp fennel seeds
- 2.5cm cinnamon stick
- 1tbsp black peppercorns
For the curry
- 7 garlic cloves, smashed
- 5cm piece ginger, roughly chopped
- 2-3 green finger chillies, roughly chopped
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 200g can chopped tomatoes
- 4tbsp rapeseed oil
- 2tsp mustard seeds
- 20 fresh or frozen curry leaves, plus extra handful, to garnish (optional)
- 1tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, or to taste
- 1 small bunch coriander, finely chopped
- 400ml canned thick coconut milk
To serve
- cooked rice
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
Method
Combine the chicken drumsticks
with the turmeric in a bowl, to
evenly coat, and set aside.
For the masala, put the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds, the cinnamon stick and the peppercorns in a frying pan and toast over a medium-high heat until warm to the touch and fragrant, taking care not to burn them. Using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, grind all these spices into a fine powder and set aside.
For the curry, put the garlic,
ginger and green chillies in a small food processor and
blend with a little water into
a paste. Set aside.
Blend the onions and tomatoes together to form another smooth paste and again set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over a medium-high heat. When small bubbles start forming at the bottom of the pan and rise to the top, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, toss in the curry leaves and allow to sizzle for around 30 seconds, then stir in the garlic, ginger and chilli paste. Stir in the prepared spice masala and the Kashmiri chilli powder and continue cooking for another minute.
Fry, stirring continuously, for around 30 seconds and pour in the onion and tomato paste. Fry this, stirring often, for around 5 minutes or until this base masala has turned a couple of tones darker.
Add the drumsticks and stir them to coat with the base masala ingredients. Add the chopped coriander, followed by the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and cover the pan, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue simmering to thicken the sauce until you are happy with the consistency and the chicken is cooked through. Check for seasoning and add salt to taste.
Garnish with the extra curry leaves, if using, then serve on a bed of rice with the lime wedges to squeeze over.
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