Naatu kodi pulusu

As tradition built it

Serves 4. About 45 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 whole country chicken, jointed, on the bone
• 2 tbsp coriander seed
• 1 tbsp dry coconut, grated
• 1 tsp poppy seed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 2 green cardamom
• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chillies, slit
• A sprig curry leaves
• 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 3 tbsp oil
• to taste salt

Method

1. Dry-roast the coriander seed, dry coconut, poppy seed, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind to a paste with a little water.
2. Heat oil in a heavy pan and fry the onion, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli and curry leaf until the onion is soft and starting to colour.
3. Add the ground spice paste and cook for a few minutes until the raw smell is gone.
4. Add the chicken pieces and brown briefly, then add the tamarind pulp, salt and enough water to come partway up the meat.
5. Cover and simmer for around 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the gravy has thickened and taken on a deep, roasted colour.

What a modern chef changes

A spice paste roasted fresh and a chicken cooked in two stages, for a cleaner separation of aroma and heat.

Rung 3

Method

1. Roast the coriander, coconut, poppy seed and whole spices separately by type until each is individually coloured, in the same discipline this chapter's chilli rung asks for, rather than roasting them all together in one pan where the delicate poppy seed and coconut can scorch before the coriander is properly toasted.
2. Brown the chicken pieces hard in a separate very hot pan before it goes into the gravy, for a genuine Maillard crust the gentler simmer-braise alone does not build.
3. Finish with a small handful of fresh curry leaf fried briefly in ghee and scattered over at the table, a fresh, sharp final note against the long-cooked base underneath.