Chicken Kolhapuri

A blazing Maharashtrian chicken curry with a roasted chilli, coconut and sesame masala.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 35 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 800g chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in, skin removed
  • 6 dried Kashmiri red chillies
  • 2 dried hot red chillies
  • 2 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp white poppy seeds
  • 4 cloves
  • 5cm cinnamon stick
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 30g unsweetened desiccated coconut
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 onions, 1 roughly chopped and 2 finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger and garlic paste
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 350ml water
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

  1. Dry-roast the dried chillies, coriander, cumin, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns in a pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the coconut for the last 30 seconds.

  2. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the pan and fry the roughly chopped onion for 6 minutes until browned. Blend with the roasted spices and 100ml of the water to a thick paste.

  3. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy pan. Cook the sliced onions for 10 minutes until golden, then stir in the ginger and garlic paste for 2 minutes.

  4. Add the tomatoes, turmeric and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the spice paste and cook for 5 minutes until the oil separates.

  5. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Pour in the remaining water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the gravy is thick.

  6. Scatter over the coriander and serve with bhakri, chapatis or rice.