CHICKEN DRY MASALA WITH COCONUT

                        This is a receipe of my own preparation .Today we planned to make nandu masala at home, so i started to prepare the ingredients  for masala , but my hubby returned with a empty hand since crab was not good :(.Since i had almost done with preparation part, i tried it with chicken as we had  some frozen chicken, it worked out well....This receipe almost close to nandu masala that we usually prepare but with small variations...but gives a good taste...

INGREDIENTS
Onion-1 medium
tomato-1 medium
ginger garlic paste- 1 teaspoon
chilli powder-1 teaspoon
coriander powder-1 tablespoon
turmeric powder-1 tablespoon
pepper-2 teaspoon
salt - to taste
oil-3 tablespoon


for masala paste
grated coconut/chopped-1 tablespoon
green chilli-1
whole cashews - 2 / broken cashews-4
kaskas-3 tablespoon
one small onion finely chopped
fennel seeds-1 teaspoon


Seasoning
Clove-2
Cinnamon-2
brinji leaf-1 crushed
fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
curry leaves-few.

Step1
Soak the cashew and kaskas in hot water for 10-15 minutes , grind it with rest of the ingredients referred in For masala paste in to a very smooth paste by adding little tablesalt so that it forms a smooth binding paste.keep aside.


Step2
      Pour oil in a pan/cooker add items given for seasoning.let it splutter.Now add chopped onions,cook well.once its done add chopped tomatoes add little salt so that it smashes well and binds with onion together as a paste like consistency...Now add ginger-garlic paste mix it until you get a nice aroma of the masala(1 or 2 minutes).now add the chicken pieces and cook for few minutes , no need to add water as chicken as it cooks leaves water. As the water oozes out it means chicken is cooked now add chilli powder,coriander powder and turmeric powder allow it to boil with little water for 5 minutes in medium flame.finally add the grounded masala mix well and keep in low flame for 5 minutes.. stir occasionally otherwise it will get burnt since we are adding rich masala of cashew and kaskas...Now after 5 minutes in low flame add pepper powder mix well and leave it for a couple of minutes and serve hot.........Ideal for rice,naan, parottas and rotis....

TIPS
1.Dont add too much of water to this dish as it will fade the rich taste.
2.Blend the onions and chopped tomatoes with little salt so that it smashes well and binds with onion as a paste like consistency.This gives  good consistency and will not seperate water at the edges of masala after cooking.
3.Dont add too much of coconut as it will change the taste of whole dish.just 1 tablespoon is more than enough for the quantity i have mentioned.