Pallipalayam Chicken Fry – Taste From KonguNadu

Happy Sunday! There is so much happening around in Burgh. The day looks gloomy and dark and there is no possibility of Sun today. It is cloudy outside and I need to wear a jacket when I step out. I know summer is ending and winter is approaching. Did I say that my tomato plants are blooming in full swing? Every day it gives us a bowl of reddish tomatoes. What’s happier than to eat fresh produce and you know what you put in your tummy? We gave saplings to my colleagues and they were harvesting while we were eagerly waiting for buds to bloom. But then, though these beauties took time to adapt to the climate outside, it exceeded our expectations. Every plant you grow is a joy even if they give you back or not. Isn’t it? I do see bright big white flowers in my capsicum plants. It has become my routine to check them everyday morning – someday I wake up to flowers, someday ripe tomatoes, someday dried leaves. They never cease to amaze me every time.

Now, to the sum and substance, what would be a perfect choice for such a cloudy day? The clouds are playing hide and seek here leaving us clueless about its downpour. I didn’t have much produce in my refrigerator. At the same time, I want to prepare an authentic chicken fry for my lunch today. I did my high school in a town near to Erode. Erode is a place in Tamil Nadu which is very well known for textiles. Most of my classmates in my school are from nearby places of Erode. Their food and way of preparation are entirely different from our south. Their Cuisine is known as Kongunadu Cuisine and it includes recipes from places in Palani, Dharapuram, Karur, Namakkal, Thiruchengodu, Erode,Selam,Dharmapuri, Coimbatore, Avinasi, Nilgiris,Pollachi and Udumalpet [All these places are in Tamilnadu-South India] I remember tasting arisi paruppu sadham and their chicken delicacies during my high school days. They were unique and I have never seen their chicken pieces marinated with masalas but then they taste divine. They use simple ingredients like turmeric, onions, and coconut available in your pantry for their recipes. Every dish of theirs has its own nativity and style. I have always wanted to try Kongu Nadu recipes in my kitchen and today sounded perfect to try with the very less common ingredients.
This Pallipalayam Chicken Fry is a famous chicken fry from a town, Pallipalayam near to Erode. The recipe calls for only onion and red chilies. I hear you. Yes, only red chilies for spiciness. If you are skeptical about how they turn out, then I should say you must taste it once to relish its flavor. The addition of onions and garlic with red chilies provide the required spiciness to the chicken and unique flavor to it. This is a simple luscious chicken which is a perfect combination for rasam rice or curd rice. The best part is you don’t need to grind exotic masalas for it.
Now to the recipe,

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Chicken, cut into medium sized pieces (Use chicken with bones for great taste)
• 1 ½ Cup Shallots
• 12-15 Garlic Cloves
• 4 tablespoon Cooking Oil
• 15 Dried Red Chilies
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• ¼ Cup Curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon Salt (adjust according to your taste)

Method:

• In a mixer, add shallots and garlic. Grind them into a coarse paste.
• In a non-stick pan, add oil and heat over medium flame. Once the oil is hot, add curry leaves and allow it to crackle.
• Add in the dried red chilies and fry it for a minute.
• Now, add in the grounded shallots garlic paste to the pan and combine them well.
• Add the chicken pieces, turmeric and salt. Combine them well so that the chicken pieces are evenly coated with onion paste.
• Reduce the flame to low and keep cooking the chicken for about 30 minutes until the chicken pieces are cooked and become tender. The pieces should be totally dry and the chicken should be roasted well.
• Ensure you don’t overcook the chicken as they will become hard and lose its juiciness.
• Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves. Serve warmly with plain steam rice and spicy tomato rasam.

If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here –
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Yours Truly

Karthi