Spicy, full of flavor, hearty Andhra style chicken curry or gravy recipe with step-by-step photos.
Andhra cuisine is renowned for its hot, spicy, and lip-smacking dishes. Being the home for fiery Guntur red chili, naturally, the food of this region is high on chili quotient.
Andhra chicken curry, also known as Kodi Kura, is an Andhra Pradesh special chicken dish with hot and spicy masala gravy. In the Telugu language, ‘Kodi is chicken, and ‘Kura’ means curry. It is one of the popular chicken dishes found on Indian restaurant menus, especially those serving South Indian cuisine.
About this recipe
Well, there are many versions of Andhra chicken curry available. The recipe shared here uses minimal ingredients. It is simple, easy-to-prepare, and tastes delicious! It is spicy and moderately hot. You can adjust chilies as per your taste.
Poppy seeds, coconut, and tomatoes are the key ingredients of the gravy. The poppy seeds and coconut lends a rich flavor and texture to the masala. But in case you don’t have these, you can substitute them with cashew nuts, almonds, or melon seeds.
This flavorful chicken curry tastes awesome with fluffy steamed rice. It also pairs well with any flavored rice, roti, paratha, or even naan. For a satisfying meal, serve this Andhra chicken curry with this simple prawn pulao and a glass of plain sweet lassi, and enjoy!
More chicken curry recipes on the blog
- Punjabi Dhaba Style Chicken Curry
- Bihari Chicken Curry
- Mughlai Chicken Changezi
- Chicken Lababdar
- Kadai Chicken
Andhra Chicken Curry Preparations Step-by-Step
Marinate the chicken: Take the chicken pieces in a bowl, add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt. Mix everything well and set aside for 20 minutes.
Make the poppy seeds and coconut paste: Dry roast the poppy seeds for a minute over low flame until crisp. Transfer to the grinding jar and allow to cool. Grind to make a powder, add coconut and very little water, and make a smooth paste.
Prepare the curry:
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan or kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is slightly hot, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamoms. Saute for a couple of seconds until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions, green chilies, and sauté over medium flame till they are golden brown color (about 8 minutes).
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes until the raw smell goes.
- Add marinated chicken and sauté over medium to high flame for 2 minutes.
- Next, add coriander powder and poppy seeds-coconut paste. Continue to saute until the moisture dries.
- Add chopped tomatoes along with salt and further saute until tomatoes melt down completely and release oil.
- Then add hot water, stir once, reduce the heat to low, and close the lid. Cook until the chicken is done and oil separates (about 10-15 minutes).
- Finally, turn off the heat, add garam masala powder and coriander leaves. Stir to mix, cover the lid and rest it for 5 minutes to combine all the flavors.
- If using a pressure cooker, follow the same step-by-step process above and cook for about three whistles.
Serve: Andhra style chicken curry is ready to serve. Serve hot along with rice, roti, or your choice of meal.
Recipe Notes with Tips
- Chicken: Bone-in chicken gives the best flavor and taste.
- Cooking oil: I have used Sunflower oil. Vegetable oil or any refined oil can also be used.
- Poppy seeds and coconut: Use fresh poppy seeds. Poppy seeds tend to go rancid quickly and taste bitter. Hence it’s best to keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight jar. In case poppy seeds and coconut are not available, substitute these with cashew nuts, almonds, or melon seeds. Just make sure to soak the almonds in hot water for an hour and peel the skin if using.
- Chilies: Add more or less chili as per your tolerance.
- Garam masala powder: You can use store-bought or homemade garam masala powder, whatever is available with you. If you don’t have any, take a 1-inch cinnamon stick, 2 green cardamoms, 2 cloves and make a powder.
If you try this recipe, please leave a feedback and rating. You can also snap a photo and tag me @spoonofflavor on Instagram.
Andhra Style Chicken Curry Recipe Step By Step
INGREDIENTS ( 1 CUP = 250 ML )
For marination
- 500 g or 1.1-pound bone-in chicken
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the curry
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 medium-sized onion finely chopped
- 2 green chilies chopped or slit
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp fresh coconut grated
- 2 medium-sized red tomatoes finely chopped
- salt as required
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder (see note)
- 4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves finely chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Marinate the chicken
- Take the chicken pieces in a bowl, add turmeric powder, red chili powder, and salt. Mix everything well and set aside for 20 minutes.
Make the poppy seeds and coconut paste
- Dry roast the poppy seeds for a minute over low flame until crisp. Transfer to the grinding jar and allow to cool. Grind to make a powder, add coconut and very little water, and make a smooth paste.
Prepare the curry
- Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan or kadhai over medium heat. Once the oil is slightly hot, add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamoms. Saute for a couple of seconds until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions, green chilies, and sauté over medium flame till they are golden brown color (about 8 minutes).
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes until the raw smell goes.
- Add marinated chicken and sauté over medium to high flame for 2 minutes.
- Next, add coriander powder and poppy seeds-coconut paste. Continue to saute until the moisture dries.
- Add chopped tomatoes along with salt and further saute until tomatoes melt down completely and release oil.
- Then add hot water, stir once, reduce the heat to low, and close the lid. Cook until the chicken is done and oil separates (about 10-15 minutes).
- Finally, turn off the heat, add garam masala powder and coriander leaves. Stir to mix, cover the lid and rest it for 5 minutes to combine all the flavors.
- If using a pressure cooker, follow the same step-by-step process above and cook for about three whistles.
- Serve: Andhra chicken curry is ready to serve. Serve hot along with rice, roti, or your choice of meal.
Notes
- Chicken: Bone-in chicken gives the best flavor and taste.
- Cooking oil: I have used Sunflower oil. Vegetable oil or any refined oil can also be used.
- Poppy seeds and coconut: Use fresh poppy seeds. Poppy seeds tend to go rancid quickly and taste bitter. Hence it’s best to keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight jar. In case poppy seeds and coconut are not available, substitute these with cashew nuts, almonds, or melon seeds. Just make sure to soak the almonds in hot water for an hour and peel the skin if using.
- Chilies: Add more or less chili as per your tolerance.
- Garam masala powder: You can use store-bought or homemade garam masala powder, whatever is available with you. If you don’t have any, take a 1-inch cinnamon stick, 2 green cardamoms, 2 cloves and make a powder.
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