Malvani chicken curry

Malvani masala is a popular spice mix from the coastal belt of Malvan in Maharashtra. As the name suggests, the spice mix is mostly made and used by people from the Malvan region to flavour chicken, mutton and vegetable preparations. This is usually made in bulk quantities to be used for the year and each household has a different recipe for the spice mix. If you are an enthusiast you can try and make this spice mix at home. There are several recipes on the internet that can be found. Or better still get it from friends who make this :-)

The most important thing for this dish to be a success is the quality of your spice mix, it is literally the ingredient that makes or breaks the recipe. And like most spice mixes, this is easy to find in a local grocery store in Mumbai, but you will have to go through a few to figure out which suits your palette. As of now, these spice mixes are made locally and every store has a different mix stocked.

This is a quick chicken curry provided you have the Malvani masala stocked in your kitchen. I usually stock this spice mix along with the East Indian bottle masala, as I use them quite often to make chicken, beef and mutton curries. They are quick to make and turn out quite tasty.

I first got this recipe and spice mix from a dear friend and colleague of mine - Dipti Gonasagi. I have made few changes in the method of cooking and the sequence of ingredients that go into the pan, mostly to cut short time used in the prep work. I am sure many seasoned cooks do that, to either save time or because they are comfortable doing things a certain way, without greatly altering the taste of the dish, so feel free to tinker around to suit your needs. Thank you Dipti for this lovely recipe.

Recipe credit: Ms Dipti Gonasagi

Ingredients:

1. Meat (Chicken or mutton) - 1 kg
2. Onion - 1 medium sized, finely sliced
3. Tomatoes - 2 medium sized, finely sliced
4. Green chilly - 3 nos, sliced
5. Malvani masala - 2 tbsp
6. Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric chilly powder 1/2 tsp
8. Lime/lemon juice - 2 tbsp
9. Potatoes - 3 medium sized, cubed
10. Oil and salt - as needed

Roast the below mentioned ingredients on a pan using little oil:

1. Coconut - 1/2 - 3/4 cup
2. Onions - 2 medium sized, sliced
3. Garlic - 8 cloves, sliced
4. Ginger - 1 inch piece, sliced

Method:

1. Clean, wash and drain the meat. Marinate the meat in the powdered spices and set aside. 
2. Slice the onions, tomatoes and green chillies.
3. Cool the roasted ingredients and blend to a paste using water.
4. Heat a deep pan, add the onions and fry till they turn soft and brown. Add the marinated meat and mix well.
5. Add salt, the sliced tomatoes, green chillies and the ground paste of coconut and onions. Mix well and let the meat cook. Add 1/2 cup of hot water if necessary. 
6. No water is required if you are using the pressure cooker. 
7. Add the potatoes and the lime/lemon juice when the meat is half cooked. Check for salt, spice and consistency. 
8. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapattis or steamed rice. 

Notes:

1. Whenever you try a new spice mix use half the quantity mentioned so that you get a sense of the flavors. you can always add more through the cooking process.
2. Use the spice mix, chilly powder and green chilies as per your spice tolerance. The measurements used in the recipe above will give you a medium spicy curry.
3. In case you forget to marinate the meat or just want to skip that part, you can. Just add all the spice powders into the pan, after the onions have browned and then add the meat.