Chennai Cuisine

Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is home to a potpourri of vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes and is famous for its exclusive food culture.

The following recipes are shared by Mrs. Jayanthi who hails from Chennai. She learnt these recipes from her mother and mother-in-law.

Selected Recipes:

1. Kuruma

2. Spicy Potato Fry

3. Kari Kuzhambu

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Kuruma

Photo credits: Jayanthi Krishnamurthy

Kuruma (without vegetables) is a popular side dish for appam and biryani. If you run out of vegetables, but want to make a side dish for breakfast then this kuruma recipe is a must-try!

It also goes with idly, dosa, appam and idiyappam.

Cooking Time	Serves
30 minutes	4-5 persons

Ingredients:

Spices:

1. Fennel Seeds,

2. Cinnamon Stick

3. Jeera seeds

4. Pepper pods

5. Star Anise

Powder:

1. Salt

2. Turmeric

3. Chilly powder

4. Garam masala

5. Pepper powder

Main Ingredients:

1. Onion, Tomatoes

2. Garlic

3. Ginger

4. Cashews

5. Coconut Paste

6. Curry Leaf

7. Coriander Leaves

8. Oil

9. ghee

Coconut Paste:

1. Grated coconut

2. Green chilly

3. Pepper pods

4. Garlic pods

5. Ginger

6. Cashews

Method:

1. Heat a pan or an instant pot - add the spices (fennel seed, cinnamon stick, star, jeera seed) and fry the spices for a few minutes. Now, add the chopped onion and Sautee until it turns into golden brown colour. After a few minutes, add curry leaves and chopped tomatoes. Allow the tomatoes to cook well and meanwhile add the required salt so that they cook nicely.

2. This plain curry is complete only with the “Coconut Paste”. Grind all the mentioned ingredients well into a thick paste. This is the game changer for this recipe.

3. Add the grinded coconut paste to the onion and tomato mix in the cooker and pressure cook it for a couple of whistles.

4. Garnish the platter with some coriander leaves. This recipe is a complete delight when served with idli/dosa/poori/roti/jeera rice.

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Spicy Potato Fry

Photo credits: Jayanthi Krishnamurthy

Spicy potato fry goes well as a side dish with Sambar rice, Rasam rice or Curd rice. It is a popular combination with Curd Rice. This is a quick and delicious recipe with minimal ingredients.

Cooking Time	Serves
20 mins	4-5 persons

Ingredients:

Spices:

1. Curry leaves

2. Oil

3. Salt

4. Ginger Garlic Paste

Powder:

1. Chilly Powder

2. Garlic

3. Asafoetida/Hing

4. Garam Masala

Main Ingredients:

1. Boiled and Diced Potatoes

Method:

1. Wash the potatoes and boil the potatoes for 5 mins in an instant pot or pressure cook for 2 whistles and peel off the skin.

2. Marinate the boiled potato with salt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilly powder, garam masala, asafoetida and curry leaves.

3. Heat the pan with oil and add crushed garlic pods. Now add and fry the marinated potatoes, until it turns golden brown.

4. Garnish with curry leaves and serve with the rice of your choice!

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Kari Kuzhambu

Photo credits: Jayanthi Krishnamurthy

This Tamil Nadu-style spicy and flavorful chicken curry (Kari kuzhambu) recipe is perfect to enjoy with some hot rice, Idlis or Dosa. It can be enjoyed with a variety of main dishes like appam, idiyappam and paratha, and it also makes for a great breakfast!

Cooking Time	Serves
30 mins	5-6 persons

Ingredients:

Spices:

1. Fennel Seeds

2. Cinnamon Stick

3. Jeera seeds

Powder:

1. Chilly

2. Ginger-garlic paste

3. Salt

4. Garam masala

5. Coconut paste

6. Pepper

Main Ingredients:

1. Chicken

2. Onion

3. Tomatoes

Method:

1. Chicken curry is a very simple dish made with onion, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, green chilly and curry leaves. Marinate the chicken with the masalas such as chilly powder, coriander powder, garam masala, pepper powder, curd, and lemon juice. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the pan with oil, add fennel seeds and jeera seeds. Add onion, green chilly, curry leaves, and ginger garlic paste. Fry them all well until it turns golden brown. Then add the marinated chicken and add the required salt n chilly powder!

3. Pressure cook for 6 mins so that the chicken cooks along with the added masalas and onion & tomatoes. Release the pressure and add coconut paste. I added three tablespoons for coconut/onion/tomato/green chilly/jeera/fennel seed. Boil the gravy for 5 mins and it’s ready to be served! Garnish the gravy with coriander leaves. Enjoy with idli/dosa/rice.

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Special Thanks to Mrs. Jayanthi Krishnamurthy for sharing her wonderful recipes with us. You can find more recipes by Mrs. Jayanthi on her Instagram page.

Mrs.Jayanthi Krishnamurthy hails from Chennai, Tamil Nadu but resides in California. (Bay Area) She works as an after-school teacher and is currently volunteering as a Business Analyst for a non-profit organisation in San Francisco. She also has an Instagram food page "Spicy_Station" where she portrays various South Indian dishes.