Chicken Vembattam Recipe ( Simple and Elegant Chicken Dish )

Simple, comforting Chicken dish full of flavour with tiny chicken pieces!!

This is my MIL's native dish. And don't ask me, why is it called Vembattam? As long as it tastes wonderful you don't need the name reasoning all right? ( Good! because I don't know :) )
It doesn't require any fancy ingredient nor does it require any fancy equiment, but the taste of it will surely blow you off.
Whenever you want to eat chicken and not in a mood for a heavy dish, then this is the dish for you. Even after two helpings, you feel miraculously light!!! And I promise you, that you will definitely go for more than two helpings :)

The tempered ginger and garlic combined with curry leaves and coconut makes it a very aromatic chicken dish. This Chicken Vembattam tastes wonderful with roti, rice and dosa too..

 

Chicken Vembattam

 Simple and elegant Chicken dish for roti and rice!
 Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 15 min
 Total time: 25 min |Yield: 2 to 3 servings

Ingredients:
Chicken: 1/4 kg ( finely chopped )
Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal: 3/4 tsp
Finely Chopped Ginger: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 4 cloves ( finely chopped ) 
Shallots: 5 or 6 ( finely chopped ) 
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Dry Chilli: 3 big or 4 small
Salt: To taste
Water: 3/4 cup 
To Grind:
Chopped Coconut: 2 and 1/2 tbsp 
Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig

METHOD:
1) Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters add the urad dal. Then add the finely chopped ginger and garlic and fry for a minute ( no need for colour change ) Now add the shallots, split dry chilli, turmeric, curry leaves and fry until onions are transluscent.


2) Add the chicken pieces and give a very good toss. Add the water and bring it to a boil.

3) Add salt. Close and cook for 10 to 15 minutes in low medium flame. Meanwhile take the items under the title To Grind in a mixer.

4) Grind the contents to a coarse mixture just like scrapped coconut. After 10 minutes, when the chicken is cooked add the coconuts mixture to it and mix well for a minute on high flame. Switch it off.
That's it the very easy and tasty chicken dish is ready!!!



NOTES:

1) For this recipe use a combination of chicken pieces with and without bone as it makes it more flavourful.

2) As the pieces are very small, the chicken gets cooked quickly so make sure not to overcook.

Cheers,

Sindhiya.S