Chicken Chettinad

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Back in 2010 when I was in Poona, one of my good friends from my early training days in Bangalore, Manly-Aerobics-Doer (whom you might remember as the patron saint of laddoos from the keema pav recipe), was getting married. He called me up to give me the good news, and to invite me to his wedding later that year, which was in his hometown of Chennai. Although thrilled that my mate was getting hitched, I was slightly less thrilled about the prospect of travelling to Chennai, where apart from not knowing anybody, I was certain the heat and humidity would reduce me to a puddle on the sidewalk. After a few days of hemming and hawing, and riding the fence on whether or not to make the trip, my decision was made for me by Manly-Aerobics-Doer himself. He booked and sent me flight tickets. Not only that, he set it up so that I was staying with him for the entire trip so I wouldn't be lonely.

When the time came, I flew out to Chennai, landing a little past 23:00. I took a cab to the address I had been provided, and managed to arrive at my destination with relative ease. After the customary bro hugs and catching up, we called it a night, and crashed. Next morning, after I'd showered and shaved, I was introduced to his large, but very welcoming family and fed a very large breakfast. Once we had eaten, we were joined by another old friend from training, Lanky-Cynic, and we set off to run a few errands. Errands done, we drove back home, tucked into lunch, waited to digest it, and set off again; this time to show me the sights and sounds of Chennai. We did a city drive, and a short stroll at Marina beach, before it was time to go back. The next day began much like it's predecessor, with a big breakfast. This was followed by traditional wedding functions, more big meals, and culminated at a wonderful cocktail/sangeet with all of his friends (and me, obviously) going completely mental on the dance floor. The next day, my final day in Chennai, was the big one. The wedding. We woke up, had another big breakfast, and 3 of us, along with Manly-Aerobics-Doer's friend (now also my friend), Once-Chubby-Now-Marathon-Runner, set off to take Manly-Aerobics-Doer to what I call, his 'Beauty Appointment'. Once he was all facial-ed, and dead skin free, we went back home to start prepping for the evening's festivities. The wedding was wonderful; dancing on the streets in the baraat, eyeing up the bride's friends at the reception, still more food, all the way until it was time to head back to Poona.

It's been years since that trip, and I've been to tons of weddings since, but I've never felt like the VIP I felt like when I was there. I was the groom's friend from another city, and boy was I treated well! No less than a member of the family! Now, if you don't have friends in Chennai who invite you to their grand weddings, or are simply too afraid to make a trip to the most humid city I've ever been to, you can experience part of the magic in this dish, which is from the state that Chennai is the capital city of, Tamil Nadu.

For my Chicken Chettinad, you will need the following:

Chicken	500 gms (boneless, if you can wangle it)
Onions	2 medium
Tomatoes	1 large
Grated/Desiccated Coconut	1 cup
Ginger	thumb sized piece
Garlic	4-5 cloves
Jeera (cumin) seeds	5 tsp
Elaichi (cardamom pods)	2
Cloves	4
Cinnamon	1" piece
Saunf (fennel seeds)	2 tsp
Haldi (turmeric) powder	1 tsp
Peppercorns	tiny handful
Curry leaves	handful
Dried red chillies	8-10
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Cube the chicken.
2. Blitz 1 onion, ginger, garlic, 3 tsp jeera, saunf, peppercorns, red chillies, and the coconut together. (Add a splash of water if you're using desiccated coconut) to make a marinade.
3. Pop the chicken in a bowl.
4. Plop the blitzed paste on top of the chicken.
5. Lovingly mix it until the chicken is all coated with the marinade.
6. Cover/Saran wrap the bowl and stick it in the fridge for 30 mins.
7. Blitz/Grate the remaining onion.
8. Blitz the tomato.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a kadhai/pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Pop in the rest of the cumin.
6. Toss in the elaichi.
7. Stick in the cloves.
8. Chick in the cinnamon.
9. Float in the curry leaves.
10. Cook it until you can smell the whole spices.
11. Spoon in the onions.
12. Wince as you're spattered by the oil.
13. Cook until the onions are a lovely brown.
14. Sprinkle in the haldi.
15. Mix.
16. Pour in the blitzed tomato.
17. Cook until the oil separates from the tomato.
18. Retrieve your chicken from the fridge.
19. Empty the bowl into the pan.
20. Mix.
21. Add salt to taste.
22. Cook for a few minutes until the chicken stops looking pink and the paste becomes darker.
23. Splash in some water.
24. Pop a lid on.
25. Watch the telly for 15-20 minutes.
26. Take the lid off.
27. Check that the chicken is cooked. (If not, give it a few minutes.)
28. Adjust the consistency as desired.
29. Turn the gas off.
30. Serve with hot rotis or rice.
31. Stuff face.
32. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Go to Chennai if you get the chance, they have awesome sambar.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!