Chettinad kaara koli(kozhi) kulambhu / Chettinad spicy chicken gravy

Starting a sunday with a sumptuous breakfast 'Idli - chicken gravy' is delightful. Last sunday for no reason i woke up bit early and surprised my hubby with this breakfast combination. He didnt think of lunch till 2 00 o'clock afternoon ( :P).... In my hometown this chicken gravy is served for idiyappam (rice hoppers) or appam (bowl shapped indian pancake). Spicy recipe, Non veg lovers may like this taste very much.

Ingredients:

To saute

1. Cooking oil - 5 tbs
2. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1/2 tbs
3. Cumin seeds / Jeera - 1/ tbs
4. Suanf / Sombu - 1/2 tbs
5. Curry leaves - 6 nos
6. Big brown onion - 1 finely chopped
7. Tomato - 1 finely chopped
8. Cilantro - 1/2 handful (finely chopped)
9. Mint - 1/2 handful (finely chopped)
10. Ginger galic paste - 1 1/2 tbs
11. Turmeric powder - pinch
12. Butter (optional) - 1 tbs

To cook

1. Chicken meat - 1/4 kg (cut into cube shapes, wash well and drain the water completely)
2. Any chicken masala powder or sambhar powder - 4 tbs or chili powder + coriander powder + garam masala powder - each 1 1/2 tbs
3. Salt to taste

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker, heat the cooking oil and add one by one the ingredient numbers 2 to 5 mentioned below to saute at 30 sec interval.
2. Add chopped onion and cook till it is transparent. Add the chopped tomatos and cook till its smashed. Add chopped cilantro, mint, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder and chicken masala or sambhar powder or masala powder (ingredient no 2 of to cook )together and mix well with tomato gravy. Cook this gravy in medium flame for 5 mins. Now add the chicken pieces and salt, mix well so that tomato gravy coats the chicken. Cook the chicken in medium flame for 7 mins. Add butter and stir consiously.
3. Add 3 cups of water to the chicken, close the pressure cooker lid without cooker whistle. Cook in little higher flame than medium. Once the steam comes out of the vent put the cooker whistle and cook for 4 whistles. Serve hot with Idli / dosa / cooked rice / idiyappam / appam.

Tip:- In step 2, cooking the chicken in medium flame in the tomato gravy will increase the taste of the recipe. Becoz at that stage, chicken oozes out water and tomato gravy penetrates into the chicken.