Green Chicken Curry With Coconut
Hariyali Murg
Mamta Gupta
The word Hariyali means ‘greenery’ or ‘vegetation’ in Hindi. This dish looks rather green, because of the large amount of coriander and mint leaves in it. It is a creamy, chilli hot curry, with a gentle aroma of spices and fresh coriander. I had eaten it at a wedding reception quite a while back and liked it so much that I tried to make it myself. This is the result. You can try making it with other meats, I am sure it will work.
When I eat a dish that I like, I try to note down the flavours I can detect, sometimes on a napkin. It helps me to recreate the dish later on. Occasionally, I meet a chef who is happy to share his recipe, in which case the recipe goes on this site in his/her name.
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
6-8 pieces chicken (drumsticks/thighs/small breasts or other), skin removed and pricked with a fork in a few places
3-4 tbsp. ghee or cooking oil
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp. fresh garlic, grated
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
125 ml. or 1/2 cup thick yoghurt* or dahi
Salt to taste
100 ml. single cream
8-10 green whole green chillies, thinly sliced. Remove seeds or use fewer, for a milder curry
1 cup green coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 cup grated coconut, fresh is better but desiccated will do, When using desiccated coconut, use only 1/2 cup
1 cup of coconut milk
1 tsp. Garam Masala
Instructions
Place chicken, ginger, cinnamon powder, garlic and salt in a bowl, mix and allow to marinate for 3-4 hours.
Heat oil in a pan.
Add marinated chicken pieces, fry until lightly brown on all sides and sealed.
Add yoghurt and cook on high, until liquid is absorbed.
Add the green chillies, coriander leaves and mint leaves and stir well until leaves are wilted.
Add the grated/desiccated coconut, coconut milk and simmer, keeping the pan covered, until the chicken is tender.
Turn heat off.
Add cream and garam masala and stir well.
Serve with Tandoori Roti or Plain Pulao Rice.
Notes
If you can't get cream, use ‘malai’ or skin that forms on top of boiled milk instead.
*A few tips for cooking with yoghurt :
Always use full fat yoghurt, if possible. Skimmed milk yoghurt sometimes curdles during cooking. If you wish to use low fat yoghurt, add 1 heaped teaspoon of plain or corn flour per cup of yoghurt.
Make sure that the yoghurt is at room temperature. If chilled yoghurt straight from the fridge is added to a hot dish, it may curdle.
Or, take out a few tablespoons of the hot food in a bowl, mix yoghurt, warming it a bit and then stir it back into the hot dish.
Substitute sour cream for yoghurt, using only half the amount.
