Chicken Kadi Patta is a delicious, spicy, and aromatic chicken dish from South Indian cuisine prepared using curry leaves, peppercorns, and a few fragrant spices.
This chicken recipe can be prepared in dry, semi-dry, and gravy form and can be served with steamed rice, naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc.
What are Curry leaves?
Curry leaves are a popular fresh herb used in South Indian cooking. Ninety percent of the tempering in South Indian recipes - that includes dal, upma, chutney, etc. - use curry leaves. Am I right?
And if there is any garnish in Indian cooking that is green and not coriander leaves (cilantro), then it is curry leaves 🙂
Curry leaves is also known as kadi patta or Kari Patta in Hindi, kari bevu in Kannada, Karivepaku in Telugu, Karuveppilai in Tamil & Malayalam.
We have curry leaves tree in our backyard in my hometown. If you are in the U.S, you can find curry leaves in any Indian store and sometimes even in Asian stores.
I first had kadi patta mushroom in a local restaurant in my hometown, and recently I have also shared a recipe for kadi patta fry using paneer. That version is entirely different from the one below. That is the deep fry version, and this is more like a stir fry.
One more thing, most of the non-veg recipes on my blog are cooked by my better half, and he does it really well, and you can see that here in the picture and the video. I only prep the ingredients required for non-vegetarian dishes. If he is busy or I want to surprise him with his favorite chicken or fish dishes, I cook everything on my own.
When you are a bachelor, and if you learn cooking, the person who will benefit the most is your better half. In this case, I am definitely lucky that my partner is a foodie like me and encourages me to experiment with various dishes in the kitchen.
Few tips before you start making kaddi patta chicken dry, semi-dry, or curry:
- Marinating is optional for this recipe, but it helps in tenderizing the meat.
- We are spicy food lovers. You can adjust red chilies, green chilies, and peppercorns to taste.
- I have prepared semi-dry version that goes well as an appetizer with any drink. Chicken Kadi Patta in semi-dry form can also be eaten with naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc. To make a gravy version of this dish, add a few cashews and water while you grind the masala ( referring here to the masala with ginger, onion, garlic, green chilies, etc.) and later adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding more water if needed.
Ingredients for Chicken Kadi Patta or Curry Leaf Chicken
Dry roast spices
1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns
4 to 5 Dry red chilies
1 cup Curry leaves or kadipatta
1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
Marinate Chicken
250 gram Chicken thighs (I have used skinless, with bone.)
⅓ cup Yogurt or Curds
Salt, a pinch
Juice of 1 lemon
For ground masala
2 tablespoon Garlic cloves
1 small Onion
1 tablespoon Ginger
3 Green chilies
Other ingredients
2 tablespoon Oil
½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
1 Onion, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon Garam masala powder or Curry powder
How to make Chicken Kadi Patta or Curry Leaf Chicken or Murgh Curry
Step I Marinate the chicken
In a bowl, add chicken, yogurt, salt, and juice of one lime and toss. Keep this aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can complete the following two steps.
Step II Prepare the Kadi Patta Spice Powder
In a pan on medium heat, add all the ingredients mentioned under "dry roast spices" and roast till the curry leaves become crispy.
Transfer this to a blender or mixer and blend it to a smooth powder. Check video on making of chicken kadi Patta
Step III Prepare the ground masala
In another blender or mixer, add garlic cloves, onion, ginger, green chilies, and few tablespoons of water and blend it to a smooth paste.
Step IV
In a pan on medium heat, add oil and cumin seeds. Once cumin seeds start to sizzle, add onion and saute on medium flame until onion becomes translucent.
Add marinated chicken, ground masala from Step III, and mix it well. Next, add curry leaves powder from Step II, mix, and add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water only if needed. Cover this and cook on low flame till water evaporates for about 5 minutes. Check video on making of chicken kadi Patta
Now add salt to taste, garam masala powder, and mix. Cover and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Finally, cook with the lid open until the masala dries out and coats the chicken.
Looking for more chicken recipes for dinner? Check this out:
Video recipe for Chicken Kadi Patta, Curry leaf Chicken or Murgh Curry
Detailed recipe for Chicken Kadi Patta, Curry leaf Chicken or Murgh Curry
Recipe card
Chicken Kadi Patta | How To Make Curry Leaf Chicken | Murgh Curry
Ingredients
DRY ROAST SPICES
- 1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns
- 4 to 5 Dry red chilies
- 1 cup Curry leaves or kadipatta
- 1 tablespoon Coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
MARINATE CHICKEN
- 250 g Chicken thighs I have used skinless, with bone.
- ⅓ cup Yogurt or Curds
- Salt a pinch
- Juice of 1 lemon
FOR GROUND MASALA
- 2 tablespoon Garlic cloves
- 1 small Onion
- 1 tablespoon Ginger
- 3 Green chilies
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder or Curry powder
Instructions
STEP I Marinate The Chicken
- In a bowl, add chicken, yogurt, salt, and juice of one lime and toss. Keep this aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can complete the following two steps.250 g Chicken thighs, ⅓ cup Yogurt, Salt, Juice of 1 lemon
STEP II Prepare The Kadi Patta Spice Powder
- In a pan on medium heat, add all the ingredients mentioned under “dry roast spices” and roast till the curry leaves become crispy.1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns, 4 to 5 Dry red chilies, 1 cup Curry leaves, 1 tablespoon Coriander seeds, ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Transfer this to a blender or mixer and blend it to a smooth powder. Check the video on the making of chicken kadi patta.
STEP III Prepare The Ground Masala
- In another blender or mixer, add garlic cloves, onion, ginger, green chilies, and few tablespoons of water and blend it to a smooth paste.2 tablespoon Garlic cloves, 1 small Onion, 1 tablespoon Ginger, 3 Green chilies
STEP IV
- In a pan on medium heat, add oil and cumin seeds. Once cumin seeds start to sizzle, add onion and saute on medium flame until onion becomes translucent.2 tablespoon Oil, ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds, 1 Onion
- Add marinated chicken, ground masala from Step III, and mix it well. Next, add curry leaves powder from Step II, mix, and add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water only if needed. Cover this and cook on low flame till water evaporates for about 5 minutes. Check the video on the making of chicken kadi patta.
- Now add salt to taste, garam masala powder, and mix. Cover and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Finally, cook with the lid open until the masala dries out and coats the chicken.Salt, 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
Notes
- Marinating is optional for this recipe, but it helps in tenderizing the meat.
- We are spicy food lovers. You can adjust red chilies, green chilies, and peppercorns to taste.
- I have prepared a semi-dry version that goes well as an appetizer with any drink. Chicken Kadi Patta in semi-dry form can also be eaten with naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc. To make a gravy version of this dish, add a few cashews and water while you grind the masala ( referring here to the masala with ginger, onion, garlic, green chilies, etc.) and later adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding more water if needed.
Nutrition
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Chesney Jefferson
Absolutely wonderful recipe! I doubled it up and now have lots frozen for my lunches. It took quite a long time for the curry to dry up during cooking but it was well worth the extra wait.