Chicken Varuvel

Walking into any South Indian restaurant and pour over the mind boggling menu. If all you want is a traditional meat dish, then choose the varuvel. Be warned that the varuvel is a dry dish so you will need a gravy to go with your rice: to truly enjoy the taste of a varuvel choose a milder gravy like sothi, sambar, thannisar or rasam.

Amma's recipe below is not your standard varuvel - it is easier to make with less ingredients. It can be used for both chicken or pork.

When cooking South Indian dishes, it is best to use bone-in chicken as we don't use stock, thus the chicken bones lend their rich flavour to dishes. There is nothing wrong with using boneless meat, but the flavours are less intense.

Chicken Varuvel

 Ingredients

• 1 chicken, skinned and cut into 24 parts

• 3 tbsp pepper corns (crushed coarsely)

• 2 tsp fennel seeds

• 10 dry chillies - cut into 1 inch lengths

• 2 tbsp chili powder

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 1 tsp asafoetida

• 1 lime size tamarind mixed with 100ml water - remove the seeds

• 2 large onions - chopped

• 3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

• salt and sugar to taste

• 3-4 sprigs curry leaves

• 1 small bunch coriander leaves (optional)

  
  

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with the chili powder and 1 tsp salt. Leave for at least 1 hour or better overnight.

2. Lightly stir fry chicken - put aside.

3. Leave 2 tbsp oil from fried chicken and put in crushed pepper corns and fennel seed.

4. Fry on very low fire.

5. Add dried chill and continue to stir before adding in the ginger-garlic paste.

6. Pour in tamarind juice, salt and sugar.

7. Stir till you have a thick consistency, then add fried chicken, onions and garam masala. Coat well.

8. Continue stirring on low fire till dry. Add several tablespoons of water to keep it from drying out.

9. Then add curry leaves and asafoetida.

10. Toss in the coriander leaves and turn off the fire.

11. Taste for salt and sugar, then leave to cool.