Chettinad chicken curry. Coconut. Bold spices. Curry leaves. And Indian hotel curry gravy. If you want to make something crazy delicious, this is not a bad place to start.
There’s something about South Indian food. Something that keeps me coming back. And it’s not just because it’s a change. A change from the formula dishes served at every Indian restaurant in the world.
That’s part of it. Can’t deny that. But there’s complexity of flavour here. Spice. Heat. It all works so well. This one just makes me smile.
Indian hotel style for maximum flavour
This chettinad chicken curry is a little different. A new approach to Indian restaurant style cooking. One I am really excited about. A game changer really.
I love Indian restaurant style. There’s a huge number of recipes on glebekitchen dedicated to making it.
I cook restaurant style when I want to make curry like I get in most Indian restaurants and takeaways. Those lush gravies. That smell. You know what I mean.
But when I want to pull out all the stops. When I want to make curries like they serve in the finest Indian restaurants. The best of the best. Then I go hotel style.
Hotel curry curry gravy is more work up front. There’s no doubt. But you make enough for multiple curries. And you can freeze it and pull it out as needed. Hotel style on demand.
It’s easier later. When you are making the actual curries. The technique is actually simpler. And it isn’t messy like Indian restaurant style. No splatter. Not anymore.
The wow factor that hotel style brings should not be discounted either. Hotel style gravy is mother gravy. Like French mother sauces.
This is disciplined cooking. Indian style. Did I mention I was super excited about it?
Those wonderful chicken juices
I love cooking Indian restaurant style. Don’t get me wrong. But one thing has always bothered me about it.
Indian restaurants pre-cook their chicken. It’s ready to drop into the final curry. It’s faster. Which makes customers happy.
It’s also safer in a restaurant environment. No handling raw poultry on a per order basis.
And it takes the moisture released by chicken as it cooks out of the curry. So there’s no need to try to reduce the sauce to get the consistency right.
But it comes at a price. And that price is all the flavour that is in the juices. That flavour goes down the drain. That’s my problem. Giving up flavour. Can’t stand that.
Hotel style takes care of that. It’s designed to accommodate those juices. So your curry consistency is right when the chicken is cooked.
All that flavour winds up in the curry. And then in your mouth. Where it belongs.
Fresh ground spices for great chettinad chicken curry
For even more wow I’m adding fresh ground spices to this. Like you weren’t thinking this chettinad chicken curry was already too much work.
If you go for it though, you are in for a treat. A real treat. Fresh ground spices take this to a whole different level.
I don’t always do this. And I don’t tend to write about it. For two reasons.
This is more work. Which makes sense. You never get something for nothing. But I know I already push. Constantly. Always asking you to the go the extra mile. Sometimes I’m lazy too. I get it.
More importantly, I don’t want to ruin things for you. Because this really is better. Noticeably better. There is just something about grinding freshly toasted whole spices. It makes a difference.
It’s more hassle. No denying that. But once you try it, you’ll see why it’s something you need to think about doing.
In this case I don’t feel too bad. I had to do it. It is near impossible to find pre-made chettinad masala. At least where I live.
And if you want chettinad chicken curry, it’s hard to get around it. The masala is in the name of the dish…
Chettinad chicken – for when you want something new
Chettinad chicken curry may not be the most common dish on Indian restaurant menus. That’s a shame. It should be.
If you are looking for something different. Something delicious. With big South Indian flavours. Then this one is worth a try.
Freshly ground chettinad masala. Indian hotel curry gravy. All that flavour from the chicken. How can that not be good?
Chettinad chicken curry – Indian hotel style
Ingredients
chettinad masala
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 3 dried red chilies – I like kashmiri chilies for this
- 1/2 tsp cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon bark also known as cassia
- 2 arms from one star anise Literally break off a couple of the arms from one star anise. You don’t need a lot.
- 1 clove
- 2 green cardamom pods
- pinch ajwain optional
The spice mix
- 2 tsp chettinad masala – see above
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp kasoor methi – dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
chettinad chicken curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil – any neutral oil is fine. Coconut oil is nice as well. Try 1/2 and 1//2.
- 1 2 inch cassia bark
- 4 tbsp onion chopped coarsely
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste – recipe link below
- 10 curry leaves – fresh. And it’s about 10. Not exactly 10. Just grab a few.
- the spice mix from above
- 1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy – don’t worry if it seem to thick. The juices from the chicken will thin it out.
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 3-4 pieces each
- 3 tbsp coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp tamarind paste – or tamarind pulp if you make it yourself.
Instructions
Make the chettinad masala
- Pre-heat a small skillet over medium-low heat.
- Measure out all the large spices (coriander seed, cinnamon bark, peppercorns, star anise arms, clove and green cardamon. Put those in one small bowl. These are the “big” spices. Measure out the cumin seed, poppy seed and ajwain into another bowl. These are the “little spices”. Very scientific. I know.
- Add the “big” spices. Toast, shaking the pan, until they start to get fragrant. This should take a minute or two.
- Add the “little” spices and chilies and toast, shaking constantly, for another minute. Flip the chilies about half way through.
- Let cool and grind to a fine powder. I like a coffee grinder for this. One of those ones with the blade.
Do your prep
- Chop the onion. Measure out your spice mix (everything can go into one of the little bowls you used above). Grab your curry leaves. Prep your chicken. Measure out a cup (237 ml) of Indian hotel curry gravy.
- Have your garlic ginger paste, tamarind and coconut milk handy. You’re good to go now.
Make the chettinad chicken curry
- Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan until the oil just starts to shimmer.
- Add the cassia bark. You should see little bubbles forming around it. Cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the onions. Cook the onions until they are fully translucent. If you can get the edges to brown a bit that’s a good thing.
- Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Gently fry until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This is the only messy step.
- Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix and the curry leaves. Cook for about 30 seconds. You really want to fry your spices in the oil. Don’t skimp on the oil. Bad things happen if the spices stick and burn.
- Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken thigh pieces in a single layer. Nestle them down into the sauce. Cover and ccok about 5 minutes. Remove the cover, flip the chicken and recover. Cook until the chicken is done. Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 160F. It will get to 170F as the curry finishes cooking.
- Add the tamarind paste and coconut milk.
- Look at the consistency. If you are happy with it, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water. If it’s too thin don’t cover it.
- Chettinad chicken curry is great with rice or, if you really want to go large, rice and a paratha. Parathas make everything better…
Notes
Nutrition
Chettinad chicken curry - Indian hotel style
Ingredients
chettinad masala
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 3 dried red chilies - I like kashmiri chilies for this
- 1/2 tsp cumin seed
- 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
- 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 inch cinnamon bark also known as cassia
- 2 arms from one star anise Literally break off a couple of the arms from one star anise. You don’t need a lot.
- 1 clove
- 2 green cardamom pods
- pinch ajwain optional
The spice mix
- 2 tsp chettinad masala - see above
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
chettinad chicken curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil - any neutral oil is fine. Coconut oil is nice as well. Try 1/2 and 1//2.
- 1 2 inch cassia bark
- 4 tbsp onion chopped coarsely
- 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste - recipe link below
- 10 curry leaves - fresh. And it’s about 10. Not exactly 10. Just grab a few.
- the spice mix from above
- 1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy - don’t worry if it seem to thick. The juices from the chicken will thin it out.
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 3-4 pieces each
- 3 tbsp coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp tamarind paste - or tamarind pulp if you make it yourself.
Instructions
Make the chettinad masala
- Pre-heat a small skillet over medium-low heat.
- Measure out all the large spices (coriander seed, cinnamon bark, peppercorns, star anise arms, clove and green cardamon. Put those in one small bowl. These are the “big” spices. Measure out the cumin seed, poppy seed and ajwain into another bowl. These are the “little spices”. Very scientific. I know.
- Add the “big” spices. Toast, shaking the pan, until they start to get fragrant. This should take a minute or two.
- Add the “little” spices and chilies and toast, shaking constantly, for another minute. Flip the chilies about half way through.
- Let cool and grind to a fine powder. I like a coffee grinder for this. One of those ones with the blade.
Do your prep
- Chop the onion. Measure out your spice mix (everything can go into one of the little bowls you used above). Grab your curry leaves. Prep your chicken. Measure out a cup (237 ml) of Indian hotel curry gravy.
- Have your garlic ginger paste, tamarind and coconut milk handy. You’re good to go now.
Make the chettinad chicken curry
- Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan until the oil just starts to shimmer.
- Add the cassia bark. You should see little bubbles forming around it. Cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the onions. Cook the onions until they are fully translucent. If you can get the edges to brown a bit that’s a good thing.
- Stir in the garlic ginger paste. Gently fry until the garlic ginger paste stops sputtering. This is the only messy step.
- Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix and the curry leaves. Cook for about 30 seconds. You really want to fry your spices in the oil. Don’t skimp on the oil. Bad things happen if the spices stick and burn.
- Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well to get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken thigh pieces in a single layer. Nestle them down into the sauce. Cover and ccok about 5 minutes. Remove the cover, flip the chicken and recover. Cook until the chicken is done. Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 160F. It will get to 170F as the curry finishes cooking.
- Add the tamarind paste and coconut milk.
- Look at the consistency. If you are happy with it, cover and simmer for 2 minutes. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water. If it’s too thin don’t cover it.
- Chettinad chicken curry is great with rice or, if you really want to go large, rice and a paratha. Parathas make everything better…
Notes
Nutrition
If you are a big butter chicken fan this one is for you. This is knock-down, drag out, go for gold cooking.
Seriously. It’s what they are serving at the best Indian restaurants. This is not your average takeaway butter chicken.
And it’s easier to make. Doesn’t make sense. I know. But it’s true. This is better. And easier.
Crazy talk you say? Read on. Not that far out there. You’ll see.
Restaurants run with (at least) two base gravies
Surprised? Something you don’t hear about much? Turns out good restaurants have a different gravy for butter chicken.
Maybe that’s one of the last Indian restaurant “secrets” out there. I don’t know. Probably not. I just asked and they told me. So not really a secret.
What I do know is the better Indian restaurants run with two base gravies. The best run with more. But it’s at least two.
There’s an onion based gravy. Backbone of a lot of curries. It can be restaurant style or hotel style. But there has to be onions.
And then there’s a makhani gravy . Or red gravy. That’s what they use for butter chicken. Specialized.
If you’ve ever wondered why your butter chicken doesn’t taste quite like it does at posh Indian restaurants, makhani gravy is what you’re missing.
There are no onions in butter chicken
Unsecret number 2. There are no onions in butter chicken. High-end versions anyway.
Now you are certain I am crazy. “No onions? That cannot be. Ridiculous. This blog is run by a lunatic”. I going to stop now. I’m hurting my feelings.
It’s counter-intuitive. I know. Onions are the foundation of a lot of Indian dishes. But not all of them. This is an example.
It shouldn’t really be a surprise. India is a huge country. A foodie country. With a long history of regional cooking. There are literally thousands of dishes. Tens of thousands.
Which leads me into my favourite rant. Indian food is popular around the world. But somehow it’s still a formula. The same 15 dishes. At every restaurant. Over and over. Boring.
I get that people might not be ready for Bengali fish head stew (your loss btw). But there are a lot of more approachable dishes.
But somehow the same dishes are good enough. For everyone. A few variations maybe. But when was the last time you went to a restaurant that didn’t serve a vindaloo? Or a butter chicken? Why do we put up with this?
If you see the irony in what I’ve just said, know that I am laughing at myself. Can’t get too serious.
Especially when you are preaching. And writing about the single most overdone restaurant dish in the world. In the same blog post. But I feel good about it because at least it’s crazy good.
In my defence I do push South Indian pretty hard on glebekitchen. And I slide in as much Bengali cooking as I can. Maybe not the fish head stew. But I’m trying…
Cashews for the win
Cashews add a richness that butter and cream can’t match. There’s serious lushness factor working here. Lushness. Like that is even a word…
It might push the cost of this butter chicken out of the reach of a lot of restaurants. Cashews are not cheap. But if you like butter chicken and have a dollar or two to spare it makes a difference.
Sucks to be me though. I am allergic to cashews. I tested this recipe using cashews. Wasn’t pleasant. But I did it. My wife loves it. I just took little tastes of sauce along the way.
I know the cashew version is better. But I won’t ever get to enjoy it. You can though. And I think you should. I don’t mind. I’ve come to grips with my allergy.
And I’m going to do a macadamia nut version anyway. For everyone that is allergic to cashews. All seven of us. We’ll be so set.
Scale this recipe easily
The nice thing about hotel style is it scales. Easily. You don’t have to worry about frying curry base like you do in restaurant style.
Make it for two like in the recipe below. Or use the servings slider to adjust. It just works. 2 people or 6 people for dinner? No problem. I have no control over how high that slider goes though. So use a bit of common sense.
Less mess. Easy scale. More flavour. Hotel style brings it all.
Hotel style butter chicken
I didn’t invent hotel style. This is my version. Has a little more bite maybe. But it’s been around forever. And it’s closer to you than you might think.
The Ruby Murray at Dishoom is hotel style. They don’t call it hotel style in the book. But it is absolutely hotel style.
See? Posh Indian restaurant. Hotel style. No onions in their version either if you’re wondering.
That’s an amazing cookbook by the way. Seriously. If you want something a little different it’s worth every penny.
Forget what you think you know about butter chicken. Take a leap of faith. Pretty sure you will surprise yourself. In a good way.
hotel style butter chicken
Ingredients
quick chicken tikka
- 3 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 2 tbsp tandoori masala – avoid brands that are high in salt
- 1 tsp kasoor methi
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
butter chicken
- 2 tbsp neutral oil e.g. vegetable
- 2 tsp garlic ginger paste
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder leave it out if you want really mild.
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp kasoor methi
- 1 cup makhani gravy – with cashews. Recipe link below.
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp honey to taste
- cream to drizzle
Instructions
quick chicken curry
- Make sure you’ve made your makhani gravy before you start. Combine the tandoori masala, kasoor methi, salt and oil in a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken.
- Add the chicken and combine with the marinade. Use tongs. This stuff will stain your hands and you will not be happy at all.
- Marinate for about an hour. Pre-heat your oven to 400F while this is going on. Use convection mode if you have it. I hear an air fryer is good for this as well. Place a sturdy baking sheet in the oven to pre-heat.
- Transfer the chicken (remember your tongs) to the pre-heated baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for about 6 minutes. Flip all the pieces and return to the oven. Cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160-165F. This should take another 4-8 minutes or so. Really depends on how big your chicken thigh pieces are.
- Set the chicken aside. Try not to snack too much. I didn’t include extra chicken tikka this time.
butter chicken
- Pre-heat a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients over medium low heat.
- Add 2 tbsp oil.
- When it starts to shimmer add the garlic ginger paste. Stir continously until it stops sputtering. This should take about 30 seconds. You don’t want it to colour up too much. Be careful.
- Add the kasoor methi, salt and kashmiri chili powder (if using). This recipe is on the mild end of medium spice so if you like a little warmth leave it in. It makes a difference. It also makes a difference to the colour of the final dish.
- Stir to combine and let bubble for about 45 seconds. Watch your pan. You don’t want the spices to stick or burn at this stage.
- Add the makhani gravy. Stir to combine and bring to a lively simmer. Simmer about a minute.
- Add the honey and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken. Continue to simmer until the chicken is warmed through – about a minute assuming it’s not coming from the fridge.
- Stir in the butter and cream. Adjust the consistency with a little water or chicken stock (bouillon cubes are mostly salt not stock so don’t use that) at this point to get it to a nice restaurant texture. I can’t really tell you exactly how much because it depends on how hard your simmer was as well as your exact timing. I use about 3-4 Tbsp. Sometimes a bit more.
- Butter chicken is nice with a drizzle of cream. It makes it look a bit more special but it’s not necessary – just fun!
- Enjoy.
