30 mins
Pepper Chicken Chettinad
Recipe by Mamtha Sunil Kumar
Pepper Chicken Chettinad is, as the name suggests, a dish with pepper being the dominant ingredient. Pepper Chicken Chettinad is from the southern tip of India from the state of Tamil Nadu, which is known for its earthy and spicy dishes. This is no exception!
Many recipes for Pepper Chicken Chettinad just use pepper for the hot taste. However, in this authentic chettinad preparation, the pepper flavour comes from a combination of chili and pepper. You'll notice that the crushed pepper is added at the end to retain its wonderful flavour. (As with any recipe with many ingredients, I suggest you do all the preparation work first and have all your ingredients to hand as you need them).
Peking Duck 
Peppered Cabbage Ingredients for Pepper Chicken Chettinad
If you want to know more about Indian ingredients, check our Indian Spices and our Indian Pulses, Rice and Seeds pages.
Currently displaying quantities in US Imperial Measurements
How to Cook Pepper Chicken Chettinad
- Remove any skin from the chicken, cut it into large bite-size pieces then set it aside. Peel and slice the onion and roughly chop the tomatoes.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, sliced onion, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilies. Mix together and sauté for 2-3 minutes over a medium heat. Add the tomatoes, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt and mix well. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and red chili powder and cook for several minutes until the raw smell of masala vanishes.
- Add in the chicken pieces, mix well, cover and cook over a low-medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. When the chicken is almost done, add the ground pepper into the mixture and mix well. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with bread or steamed rice.
MAMTHA SUNIL KUMAR'S HOT TIP:
You can also use lamb instead of chicken with the same recipe. Make sure you take the thigh meat of a lamb and cook to 30-40 minutes on low to medium heat before you add pepper.
Reviews of Pepper Chicken Chettinad
| December 05 2014 Cooked this yday and it had the real pepper chicken taste. It was simply marvelous. I'm crazy of chettinad cuisine and have been hunting in vain for the recipes until yday. Thanks a lot for the brilliant receipe. Pls post more:)) Sangeetha (4 reviews) |
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