Chicken Sodhi Recipe / Malaysian Sodhi Recipe with Chicken

Sodhi is a Malaysian curry or gravy made with coconut milk. Chettiars who migrated to Malaysia brought back this specialty recipe to Chettinad.

Malaysian Sodhi Recipe with Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken - 250 gms
Onion medium - 1 no
Tomato medium - 1 no
Green chilli - 2 nos
Garlic crushed - 2 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves chopped - few
Thin coconut milk - 2 cups
Thick coconut milk - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp

Chicken Sodhi Recipe 

Method
1. Clean and wash chicken pieces, finely chop onions and tomatoes.
2. In a pressure pan add oil, chicken pieces, chopped onion, tomatoes, crushed garlic, whole green chillies, turmeric powder and thin coconut milk.
3. Pressure cook chicken with other ingredients for 8 mins.
4. Once pressure is released remove the pan lid, return pan to heat.
5. Add required salt to chicken sodhi curry and let it boil for 2 mins.
6. Remove pan from heat and finally add thick coconut milk to chicken gravy and garnish with curry leaves.
Serve hot chicken sodhi with Appam, Idli, dosa or steamed rice.

Biryani Gravy Recipe - Side dish for Biryani / Parotta

South Indian prefers plain gravy as side dish for biryani than raita or brinjal curry. This an easy restaurant style gravy      for biryani which is often prepared at our home. This plain curry goes well with parotta, idli, dosa too.

Side Gravy for Biryani

Ingredients
Onion large sized (chopped)- 1 no
Tomato large sized (chopped)- 1 no
Coriander leaves and curry leaves (chopped)- few tbsp
Mint leaves (chopped)- few tbsp
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Fennel seeds / Sombu - 2 tsp
Whole dry red chilli - 5 nos
Cinnamon stick - 2" piece
Colves - 4 nos
Cardamom - 2 nos
Grated fresh coconut - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil- 3 tbsp

Plain Gravy for Biryani

Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Reduce heat to medium and add fennel seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, dry red chilli and saute for few secs. Next add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste and chopped tomatoes to the pan and saute until tomatoes are cooked. Now add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, stir everything well for few secs. Remove pan from heat and allow onion mixture to cool.
Grind sauted onion mixture along with chopped mint leaves and grated coconut to a smooth and fine paste.
Add 1 tbsp oil to same pan and return pan to heat. Add the ground masala to the pan and saute for few mins. Add turmeric powder, required salt and 2 cups water to the pan and stir well.
Cover pan with lid and boil the gravy for 5 mins.
Finally garnish gravy with coriander and curry leaves.
Serve hot gravy with parotta, biryani, Idli or dosa.

Biryani Salna

Paneer Milagu Kuzhambu / Paneer Pepper Curry

Chettinad Paneer Milagu Kuzhambu

Ingredients
Fresh paneer - 250 gms
Shallots / small onions - 10 nos
Garlic minced - 2 nos
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Methi seeds / Vendhayam - pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Masala to grind
( grind below ingredients to fine paste)
White pepper corns - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 no
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Cashewnuts - 6 nos

Chettinad Paneer Pepper Curry

Method
1. Shallow fry the paneer cubes in hot oil, drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and methi seeds, when they crackle add onion and garlic, saute for 2 mins.
3. Add ground masala paste to the pan and saute for 3 mins on medium heat.
4. Add turmeric powder, required salt and water to the pan and bring gravy to boil.
5. Add the fried paneer cubes to gravy and cook gravy on low heat for few mins until slightly thickens.
Garnish with curry and coriander leaves and serve.

Chettinad Chicken Biryani / Kozhi Biryani

Chettinad Chicken Biryani

Ingredients
Chicken pieces with bone - 3/4 kg (750 gms)
Basmati rice - 4 cups (740 gms)
Onion large sized (sliced) - 3 nos
Tomato large sized (chopped) - 3 nos
Mint leaves (chopped) - 1 bunch
Coriander leaves (chopped) - 1/4 bunch
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 1/4 cup
Coconut milk - 2 cups
Fried cashewnuts - 20 nos
Water - 4 cups
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Oil - 5 to 6 tbsp

Masala to grind
(Grind below ingredients to smooth paste)
Green chilli - 10 nos
Ginger chopped - 2" pieces
Garlic cloves - 8 nos
Cinnamon stick - 2" piece
Cardamom - 3 nos
Cloves - 6 nos
Water - 1 tsp

Chettinad Kozhi Biryani

Method
1. Marinate chicken pieces with ground masala paste, chopped mint leaves and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder.
2. Mix 2 cups of coconut milk with 4 cups of water.
3. Soak basmati rice in coconut milk and water mixture for half an hour.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan with lid, when oil is hot add bay leaves and onions. Saute onions until they are slightly browned.
5. Now add the marinated chicken along with masala & mint leaves to the sauted onions and fry until the chicken turns pale in color.
6. Next add the chopped tomatoes, curd, red chilli powder and rest of turmeric powder to the pan.
7. Saute well until tomatoes are cooked, add few tbsps of water to the pan, stir well everything.
8. When light gravy is formed, reduce heat, cover pan with tight lid and leave chicken to cook in gravy for 10 mins.
9. After 10 mins add coconut milk & water mixture from soaked basmati rice and required salt for making biryani to the gravy.
10. Turn the heat to high and bring the biryani gravy to boil.
11. When gravy starts boiling add soaked basmati rice to the pan and stir well.
12. When 1/2 of water is absorbed by the rice, reduce heat to low, cover pan with tight lid and cook biryani rice until tender.
13. Finally garnish chettinad chicken biryani with coriander leaves and fried cashew nuts.
Serve hot with onion raita, plain salna and boiled egg.

Chef's tips
My grandma and mom used to  prepare biryani with regular raw rice( ponni rice) or with seeraga samba rice. They brought flavors to biryani with hand ground masala, coconut milk and with country chicken but now it had become custom to cook biryani with basmati rice.

You can omit coconut milk and place it with water but coconut milk makes big difference in preparing chettinad style biryani.

While grinding masala paste some prefer to add fennel seeds for more flavor. If you prefer to do so add about 1 tbsp roasted fennel seeds( Sombu).

Chicken Biryani Chettinad Style

Vendakai Kathrikai Varuval / Ladies Finger Brinjal Fry

Kathirikai Vendakkai Varuval

Ingredients
Ladies finger / Okra chopped - 1 cup
Brinjal chopped - 1 cup
Onion small sized sliced - 1 no
Garlic crushed - 2 nos
Tomato small sized chopped - 1 no
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - few

Chettinad Kathirikai Vendakkai Varuval

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped ladies finger, brinjal, onion, garlic, tomato and curry leaves, saute for 2 mins.
2. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and few tbsp water yo the pan, stir fry for few mins.
3. Reduce heat, cover pan and cook vegetables until tender.
4. Remove lid and stir fry veggies on high heat until dry.
Serve hot with
Steamed Rice
Sambar
Rasam

Ladies finger Brinjal Fry

Chettinad Vazhakkai Masala - Raw Banana Masala - Plantain Curry

Vazhakkai Masala

Ingredients
Plantain / Raw Banana - 1 no
Small onion chopped - 5 nos
Tomato small chopped - 1 no
Green chilli slit - 2 nos
Garlic cloves sliced - 1 to 2 nos
Red chiili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry and Coriander leaves - few

For Coconut Masala
Grated fresh coconut - 1/4 cup
Sombu / Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Chettinad Plantain Masala

Method
1. Grind fresh coconut with sombu to smooth paste by adding few tbsp water.
2. Peel the plantain, cut into cubes and soak it in water to avoid discoloring.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow to crackle.
4. Add cubed plantain, chopped onion, tomato, green chilli and garlic to the pan, saute for 3 mins.
5. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and required salt to the pan, saute for 1 more minute.
6. Add little water to the pan, reduce heat and cook plantain until tender.
7. Finally add ground coconut paste to the pan stir fry until plantain curry is semi thick.
Garnish with curry and coriander leaves.
Serve Vazhakkai Masala with Steamed rice
Puli Kuzhambu
Rasam

Raw Banana Masala