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Desi Murgh – Southern Indian Chicken Curry with Appam
Recipe by Gary Mehigan
- Steps
- Ingredients
Steps
- For the appam, whisk semolina and water in a saucepan to combine. Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring regularly for 2-3 minutes until semolina is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside for 1-2 minutes to cool slightly.
- Add coconut cream to pan, sprinkle in yeast, and whisk to combine. Meanwhile, place rice flour and sugar into a bowl and form a well in the centre. Pour in coconut mixture, and whisk vigorously to a smooth batter.
- Cover bowl with a cloth and set aside for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight until the yeast activates and sours the mixture.
- For the curry, heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes until lightly golden. Remove and set aside. Add onions and cook for about 6 minutes or until golden, scraping the base of the pan with a wooden spoon. Transfer onions to a small food processor and blend to a paste. Set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for about 20 seconds before adding tomatoes, stirring well to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, then add turmeric, and chilli powder, and stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, pound cardamom, cloves, coriander and cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle until ground, then add to pan, cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring regularly. Add onion paste and yoghurt, and stir well to combine.
- Add chicken pieces to pan with about 250ml (1 cup) of water, or more to taste. Cover with a lid, and cook for 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender, adding more water if necessary, throughout cooking.
- To cook appams, add salt to the batter, whisk to combine. Heat an uppam pan or wok over high heat for about 1 minute until very hot.
- Ladle about 60ml (¼ cup) of batter into the centre of the pan, using handles to gently swirl the mixture until there is a thin lacy layer of batter around the pan with a slightly thicker amount in the base of the pan, then reduce heat to low. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sides of the appam begin to dry and release from the side of the pan. Cover with a lid, and cook gently for 2 minutes until base is just cooked and golden.
- Remove appam from pan, cover with a dry cloth and repeat with remaining batter.
- For the tempered spices, add oil to a frying pan over high heat. Add remaining ingredients, and swirl pan until spices pop and are fragrant. Turn off heat, and carefully tip spice mixture over the curry.
- To serve, divide curry among bowls, garnish with coriander and serve with appam.
