Madurai Pepper Chicken (Milagu Kozhi in Sesame Oil)

• 200 ml gingelly (untoasted sesame) oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 3 kg skinless chicken, curry-cut pieces on the bone
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 300 g onions, sliced
• 6 dried red chillies, broken
• 2 handfuls curry leaves
• 6 green chillies
• 150 g shallots (small onions), crushed
• 150 g garlic, crushed to a paste
• 100 g ginger, crushed to a paste
• 100 g tomatoes, chopped
• rock salt, to taste
• 50 g coriander powder
• 25–40 g freshly ground black pepper
• 25 g cumin powder
• 1 tsp curry masala (homemade or Sakthi brand)
• 2 handfuls coriander leaves, chopped

Method

The cook speaks Tamil; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Heat about half the sesame oil in a heavy iron kadai, add the fennel seeds, then the chicken and turmeric. Toss for 5–6 minutes until the moisture dries off and the chicken is about 70% cooked; lift it out. 2:28
2. Heat the rest of the oil (keep a spoonful back) and cook the sliced onions until just translucent. 4:24
3. Add the dried red chillies, curry leaves, green chillies and crushed shallots and fry briefly. 4:58
4. Add the garlic paste, then the ginger paste, and fry well. Add the tomatoes and rock salt with a splash of water and cook until soft and thick. 5:38
5. Stir in the coriander powder, return the chicken and toss gently for about 5 minutes, then simmer 5 minutes more until the masala clings and looks dry. 6:35
6. Add the black pepper, cumin powder and curry masala and toss until the chicken turns deep dark brown. 7:20
7. Scatter over the coriander leaves, drizzle with the reserved raw sesame oil and turn off the heat. 8:03

Tip. Serves 12 (our estimate for 3 kg chicken; scale down for home). His written list adds 50 g chilli powder, but on camera only coriander, cumin and pepper go in. Use an iron pan. Eaten with rasam and rice; cauliflower rice is lower in carbs.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.