Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu | Chicken Curry | Cornish Hen Gravy

Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu, the flavorful chicken curry made from cornish hen and indian spices. Recently i came to know from mullai blog that the cornish hen available in US, have the taste and flavor almost similar to our naatu kozhi. And i mentioned the same to ST who is fond of naatu kozhi very much. Immediately he said that on our next visit to walmart, we will buy one and try !!! 
So on our last weekend grocery shopping, we bought this chicken,compared to leghorn chicken, it's very small in size even the whole chicken weight is less than 1 lb. As this was the first time, we had bought whole chicken, i was bit hesitate to cut the chicken into pieces,but ST gladly did all the cutting & cleaning process !!!
The flavor of this curry was way beyond our expectation. The taste and texture of the chicken is so close to naatu kozhi.So if you like naatu kozhi flavor, then i highly recommend to try this cornish hen, just like me, you would be amazed by its taste and texture.

Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Naatu Kozhi/Chicken - 1 lb
Pearl onion - 15
Tomato - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 3/4 to 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Gingelly/Sesame Oil - 1& 1/2 tbsp
To Grind
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Cashew - 2
Fennel seed - 1/4 tsp

Procedure

First cut & wash the chicken thrice in running water and then finally add some turmeric powder to the chicken and wash it once & keep aside. Peel the pearl onion and chopped them roughly, cut the tomato into small pieces.Heat the cooker with oil.Add the cinnamon,cloves and cardamom.Fry it for  30 sec.

Then add the onions & curry leaves ,saute till the onions become translucent.

Add the chicken pieces,saute the chicken in oil for 1 min,then add the ginger garlic paste, saute till the raw smell leaves.

Add the tomatoes, give a quick stir, then add the spices one by one (turmeric,chili ,coriander powder) & mix the spices well with chicken.

Add enough water, cover the cooker, put on lid and cook  for 5 whistle or until the chicken is soft.

In the mean time, grind the ingredients listed under "To Grind" into smooth paste.Once the pressure is automatically released from the cooker, open the lid & keep the cooker in flame again.Add the coconut paste and add water as needed.

Add enough salt & mix well and bring into boil, keep the flame in low, until the oil floats on the top.Finally garnish with coriander leaves and switch off the flame.

Tasty Naatu Kozhi Kuzhambu is ready to serve.

Notes:

• Pearl onion and gingelly oil gives great taste to the kulambu, highly recommend to use this.
• If you want more thicker gravy, soak 1 tsp of poppy seed for 30 mins and grind it along with coconut and add it in kulambu
• If you wish, add a tsp of garam masala at the end for extra flavor.
• I have used cornish hen here, it gives naatu kozhi flavor.
• Cornish hen take little longer time than the broiler/leghorn chicken.