Arachuvitta nattu kozhi kuzhambu is a thick gravy prepared with country chicken with freshly ground masala at home. This recipe does not use any coconut for thickness. My mom makes this kuzhambu often when i was kid and it is my favourite kuzhambu. I tried this kuzhambu for very first time and felt very happy that i could make it perfectly like my mom. It goes well with white rice, idly and dosai.

Ingredients:

Serves 3 to 4 people

• 1/2 kg – Country chicken / nattu kozhi
• 15 nos – Sambar onion / Small onion (crush it with motor and pestle)
• 1/4 tsp – Turmeric powder
• 2 to 3 tbsp – Sesame oil
• Salt to taste

For grinding:

• 1 tsp – Oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp – Coriander seeds / malli
• 3 nos – Dry red chillies ( or add as needed)
• 1 tsp – Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp – Fennel seeds / sombu
• 1/2 tsp – Poppy seeds / kasa kasa
• 1/4 tsp – Peppercorns
• 1 tsp – Rice (preferably raw rice)

Preparation method:

1. Cut country chicken into slightly big pieces. Wash them thoroughly with lemon juice and turmeric powder 3 or 4 times.
2. Take a pressure cooker, add washed chicken along with crushed sambar onion, turmeric, salt and mix well. Set aside for at least 1/2 hour.
3. Pressure cook marinated chicken in enough water (approximately 4 to 5 cups) for upto 7 or 8 whistles or until soft. Because country chicken takes longer time to cook than our regular broiler chicken. Now chicken is ready. Do not throw away the water in which chicken is cooked. Keep it for later use.
4. Heat oil in a pan, add coriander seeds, followed by cumin seeds, dry red chillies, fennel seeds, rice, peppercorns and finally add poppy seeds, roast slightly until nice aroma comes. Allow them to cool completely.
5. Transfer roasted items to a mixer grinder and grind it to smooth paste by adding water little by little. Set it aside.
6. Heat sesame oil in a pan, add ground masala paste and saute over medium flame until it ooze out all the oil we added in the beginning. Do not burn the masala otherwise kuzhambu will taste bitter.
7. Then add cooked chicken along with water and bring it to boil. Switch off the stove when you reach desired consistency. Serve with hot rice / idly / dosai.

Notes:

• Country chicken takes long time to cook than our regular broiler chicken.
• I used motor and pestle to crush sambar onion as shown in the picture.
• Do not over roast masala that spoils the kuzhambu taste.
• Do not throw the water in which chicken is cooked because it has lot of nutrition in it. My mom used to make soup out of this water. I always use this chicken water in cooking kuzhambu instead of normal water.
• Always wash chicken in lemon juice once or twice in order to avoid the stinky smell from chicken (kavuchi smell).