Ella's Pepper Chicken

The beauty about this recipe is that every Nagercoil household – or Kerala household has the ingredients for this recipe, usually growing in their back yard.  It is the easiest, tastiest no fuss recipe for chicken that I grew up with.   I am dedicating this to the memory of my grandmother Ella Chellam who used to cook this up in a  jiffy for all of us grand kids during summer holidays.  It formed part of our picnics to Pallivilai – my grand father’s orchard / holiday home and has left an indelible mark in my brain.  It formed part of my father’s last letter to me where he promises to send me some pepper chicken via courier as I wont be coming home for Christmas – and he knows this is my all time favorite dish.  

I have tried to re-create the magic of the free range home bred chicken that is the one used to cook up this recipe back home.

Ingredients:

2 free range spatch cocks – cleaned, cut, washed and smeared with a teaspoon of turmeric.  Leave aside for 15 to 20 minutes with the turmeric.

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 to 1 and a half teaspoons salt 

4-5 tablespoons of good vegetable oil ( I used rice bran oil)

3-4 tablespoons of black pepper, freshly ground ( use less if you prefer less heat)

10 to 12 stalks of fresh curry leaves

Cook the chicken with the turmeric, chilli and salt in a pot with about ½ to ¾ a cup of water till it is cooked.

Most of the water will have evaporated b y the time you finish cooking, leave what is remaining in the pot.

In a separate wok, heat oil.  When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves, stripped from stalk.  Turn off the flame. Pour the hot oil with the curry leaves on to the cooked chicken. Add ground pepper.  

Saute in a very low flame till the curry leaf infused oil gets into the chicken along with the pepper.

This is your typical pepper chicken, where the chicken flavours are enhanced by the black pepper and curry leaves. 

Caution: Be careful when you add the curry leaves to hot oil as the hot oil will splutter. 

Variation:  You can saute 2-3 sliced red onions and add to the chicken if you want a bit of gravy.