Kundapur chicken curry recipe | South Indian curry (2024)

Home > Cook With Me > Kundapur chicken curry recipe – a southern Indian favourite

A mild Indian chicken curry with coconut, steeped in tradition from Karnataka in the south of India, layered with flavour and very easy to cook. A simple, tasty dish for a weekday meal that takes no time at all to make.

Curries are reasonably easy to follow from a book, but it’s sometimes hard to get the right recipe. It’s also impossible to get a recipe for every type of curry made in countries like India, as every chef has a different slant on how it should be cooked. Similarly, families use traditional methods and age-old recipes and regionally, the food differs also. The food of India also changes by region and by area and is impacted heavily by the ingredients that can be sourced close by. This is what makes these cuisines exciting and vibrant.

Related reading >> You can read about some of our Indian travels here.

Why this recipe works

• the repeated layering of the same flavours in the curry paste and the sauce builds incredible flavours in such a simple dish
• despite it looking like there is a lot involved, the ingredient list repeats itself, and the dish is simple and quick to make
• once the paste and sauce is made, the cooking of the chicken and rice (or other accompaniment) is all you need to do.
• perfect for a weeknight meal or as part of an Indian share feast.

What goes into this recipe?

Recipe ingredient notes

• The chillies can be either red or green. Whilst the recipe calls for red in the paste and green in the sauce, you can use either of these.
• If you love your curry hot, add more chillies and keep the seeds in.
• You can use fresh garlic and ginger or substitute them with pastes.
• If the sauce renders down too much (will depend on how much you cook it), you can add more coconut milk. Adding more will dilute some of the flavours so you’ll just need to manage this.
• When it comes to chicken, you can use any kind. Chicken on the bone will give you more flavour but will take slightly longer to cook. Chicken thigh fillets can withstand being cooked slowly for longer. If you substitute for chicken breasts, be careful not to overcook them.
• In India, this recipe is served with rice, roti, naan and chapati. I also serve it with barley, faro or freekeh for a meal with more fibre.
  

How to make Kundapur chicken curry

Step 1

Take all of the ingredients for the Kundapur curry paste (sometimes known as Kundapur Curry Masala Powder) and roast for only a few minutes in the oven or dry fry on a cooktop.

Step 2

Remove and grind all into a smooth paste using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Set aside and prepare the remaining ingredients.

Step 3

Heat the oil in the pan. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves, onion, ginger garlic paste and green chilli and saute until light brown.

Step 4

Add chopped tomatoes and turmeric. Stir until mixed through. Add the chicken, Kundapur paste, salt and water and stir it well.

Step 5

Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

Step 6

Add tamarind, stir through, and then add coconut milk.

Step 7

Serve with steamed rice or roti. Garnish with coriander or parsley.

Recipe FAQS

Expert tips

• When toasting the spices be very careful not to burn them. They should be toasted lightly to release the fragrances but over-toasting will burn the flavour and make your chicken curry paste bitter.
• The recipe calls for grinding up the spices in a mortar and pestle. This is good if you don’t have anything else but just be mindful that your paste will be very coarse. I actually now use a grinder which allows me to get a much finer paste.
• Once I have used the paste for cooking the sauce, I do another step to get a more refined curry sauce. I put the sauce through a sieve, collecting all of the textural bits, and add it back to the grinder with a little water or coconut milk. This blitzes the paste into an even finer one, meaning that there are fewer bits and pieces in the sauce when serving. Once I’ve made this into a smooth paste, I put it back into the sauce.

Step By Step Photos Above
Our recipes all have step-by-step photos, tips and FAQs listed above to allow you to make it as perfect as possible the first time.

Kundapur curry chicken

Yield: 4 serves

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

A mild Indian chicken curry with coconut, steeped in tradition from Karnataka in the south of India, layered with flavour and very easy to cook. A simple, tasty dish for a weekday meal that takes no time at all to make.

Ingredients

• Ingredients for Kundapur curry paste:
• 6-7 cloves
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 4-5 whole red chillies
• 100 grams grated coconut
• 2 cups water
• Ingredients for the curry:
• 1 kg chicken thigh cutlets
• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 10-15 curry leaves
• 4 tbsp chopped onions
• 2-3 green chillies - sliced
• 2 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• 4 tbsp chopped tomatoes
• 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
• 6 tbsp Kundapur paste
• 5 tbsp coconut milk
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups water
• 15 grams tamarind pulp
• Coriander (or parsley) for garnish

Instructions

1. Take all of the ingredients for the Kundapur curry paste and roast for only a few minutes in the oven or dry fry on a cooktop.
2. Remove and grind all into a smooth paste using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.
3. Set aside and prepare the remaining ingredients.
4. Heat the oil in the pan.
5. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves, onion, ginger garlic paste and green chilli and saute until light brown.
6. Add chopped tomatoes and turmeric.
7. Stir until mixed through.
8. Add the chicken, Kundapur paste, salt and water and stir it well.
9. Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
10. Add tamarind, stir through, then add coconut milk.
11. Serve with steamed rice or roti. Garnish with coriander or parsley.

Notes

Notes

The chillies can be either red or green. Whilst the recipe calls for red in the paste and green in the sauce, you can use either of these.

If you love your curry hot, add more chillies and keep the seeds in.

You can use fresh garlic and ginger or substitute them with pastes.

If the sauce renders down too much (will depend on how much you cook it), you can add more coconut milk. Adding more will dilute some of the flavours so you'll just need to manage this.

When it comes to chicken, you can use any kind. Chicken on the bone will give you more flavour but will take slightly longer to cook. Chicken thigh fillets can withstand being cooked slowly for longer. If you substitute for chicken breasts, be careful not to overcook them.

In India, this recipe is served with rice, roti, naan and chapati. I also serve it with barley, faro or freekeh for a meal with more fibre.

I made this recipe with four .chicken thigh cutlets for two people, so I only used a third of the ingredients.

This recipe is perfect for making ahead of time and reheating when you are ready to eat.

When toasting the spices be very careful not to burn them. They should be toasted lightly to release the fragrances, but over-toasting will burn the flavour and make your chicken curry paste bitter.

The recipe calls for grinding up the spices in a mortar and pestle. This is good if you don't have anything else but just be mindful that your paste will be very coarse. I actually now use a grinder which allows me to get a much finer paste.

Once I have used the paste for cooking the sauce, I do another step to get a more refined curry sauce. I put the sauce through a sieve, collecting all of the textural bits, and add it back to the grinder with a little water or coconut milk. This blitzes the paste into an even finer one, meaning that there are fewer bits and pieces in the sauce when serving. Once I've made this into a smooth paste, I put it back into the sauce.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 524Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 188mgSodium: 440mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 4gSugar: 9gProtein: 39g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.

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