Pepper Chicken Chettinad

Name: Pepper Chicken Chettinad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves to serve 2 - 3
Ingredients: 8 oz chicken breasts; 1 large onion; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon mustard seeds; 1 tablespoon cumin seeds; ½ teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste; 10 curry leaves; 3 green chilies; 2 tomatoes; 1 teaspoon coriander powder; 1 teaspoon cumin powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper; 2 pods cardamom; 2 sticks cinnamon; 3 cloves; 1 teaspoon red chili powder; 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaves

Ready in 30 mins

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).

Preparation Time

10 Minutes

Cooking Time

20 Minutes

Ingredients for Pepper Chicken Chettinad

If you are not familiar with any ingredients, please check our International Cooking Terms page.
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

To serve 2 - 3:

8 oz chicken breasts
1 large onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
10 curry leaves
3 green chilies
2 tomatoes
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 pods cardamom
2 sticks cinnamon
3 cloves
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaves

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.