Malvani Chicken Curry

Name: Malvani Chicken Curry
Yield: Serves 4–6
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: handful of fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, to garnish; ½ tsp cumin seeds; ½ tsp caraway seeds; 8–10 dried red chillies; 1 tbsp coriander seeds; 3–4 large garlic cloves, crushed; 5–6 garlic cloves, peeled; 100 g/3½ oz/1½ cups grated fresh coconut; 2 large onions, sliced; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 25 g/1 oz/1¼ cups desiccated/dried shredded coconut; 1 large onion, chopped; pinch of asafoetida; 2–3 bay leaves; 3 tbsp rapeseed/canola oil; 1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz whole chicken, cut into pieces; 1½ tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp salt, or to taste; 700 ml/24 fl oz/3 cups water; 1 black cardamom pod; 3–4 green cardamom pods; 10 black peppercorns; 1 tsp fennel seeds; 1 star anise; 2.5 cm/1 in cinnamon stick; 4–5 cloves; ½ tsp sesame seeds; ½ tsp mustard seeds; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Yatra

By Rohit Ghai

Published 2025

About

This is a spicy and flavourful chicken dish from the coastal region of Maharashtra, Malvan. An authentic Malvani chicken curry is made with a hot and aromatic masala and lots of coconut. This is a perfect chicken curry for all the spice lovers out there.

Ingredients

1.5 kg/3 lb 5 oz whole chicken, cut into pieces
1½

Asia
India
Malvan
Maharashtra
Main course
Gluten-free
Spicy

Method

Marinate the chicken in the ginger-garlic paste, ground turmeric and salt, and set aside.

Dry-roast all the masala ingredients in a dry frying pan until you get a nice nutty aroma. Let cool for a few minutes, then grind to a fine powder.

For the onion-coconut paste, heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the sliced onions and garlic, and sauté for 2