Chicken Ghee Roast Recipe

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Indulge your senses with this simple and straightforward recipe to make the iconic Kundapur chicken ghee roast (a fiery and tangy delicacy from Mangalore) at home.  

Follow this simple and straightforward recipe to make the iconic Kundapur Chicken Ghee Roast (a fiery and tangy delicacy from Mangalore) at home.
Kundapur Chicken Ghee Roast

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Chicken Ghee Roast is made by stir-frying (or roasting as they call in India) chicken in fairly copious amounts of ghee (clarified butter) and a medley of spices.  Using jaggery in a chicken dish is unheard of, but some culinary genius tried it (more about that later) and combined it with tamarind to give this fiery dish its unique tangy flavor.

Origins of Kundapur chicken ghee roast

Chicken Ghee Roast finds its origins in the humble kitchen of Shetty lunch home – a family restaurant in Kundapur (a small coastal town that lies in the southern part of India.) What started off in a small town has made its way to the menu of most Mangalorean restaurants throughout India and abroad.

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While typically, it is a dry side dish served with either  Neer dosa or steamed rice and curry, you could also cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and serve it as an appetizer or an after-school snack.

I know that for some people out there, making chicken ghee roast can be totally intimidating. Well, I am here to help and I will quickly show you how to make it traditionally (for when you have time) and in under 30 minutes for when you have to pull together a quick weeknight meal. 

How to make Mangalorean style chicken ghee roast

Traditional way

  1. Marinate the chicken in yogurt, salt, turmeric, lemon juice, and some chili powder
  2. Make the masala from scratch
  3. Roast the chicken in ghee – set it aside.
  4. Roast the masala in ghee along with curry leaves and jaggery and then add the chicken. Cook till it is done.

Shortcut way – Making chicken ghee roast in 30 minutes

  1. Marinate the chicken in yogurt, salt, turmeric, lemon juice, and some chili powder
  2. Roast Kundapur masala powder in ghee along with curry leaves and then add the chicken.

While making masala from scratch is always the recommended way but sometimes 30 minutes is all you have to get dinner on the table. For those times knowing a way to reduce the cooking time helps.

I will let you on a little secret – there are enough number of times, I haven’t marinated the chicken overnight at all.

Did that impact the end result drastically? The marination definitely makes the chicken flavorful but the impact of not marinating isn’t very noticeable.

Follow this simple and straightforward recipe to make the iconic Kundapur Chicken Ghee Roast (a fiery and tangy delicacy from Mangalore) at home.
Mangalorean Chicken Ghee Roast

Before you go –  a word from the fervent fan – Don’t even think of substituting ghee with any other oil, for then you would have killed the very essence of this dish and turned into an ordinary chicken dish that is not worth either writing or raving about.  Having said that if you are out of ghee, and you cannot wait to make this dish – you could use coconut oil as a substitute.

Other Mangalorean recipes that may interest you

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Follow this simple and straightforward recipe to make the iconic Kundapur Chicken Ghee Roast (a fiery and tangy delicacy from Mangalore) at home.
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Chicken Ghee Roast Recipe

Indulge your senses with this simple and straightforward recipe to make the iconic Kundapur chicken ghee roast (a fiery and tangy delicacy from Mangalore) at home.  
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients
  

For the marinade

For the masala

Other ingredients

Instructions
 

Traditional way

  • Marinate the chicken in a mixture of lemon juice, salt, yogurt, and turmeric powder. Refrigerate the marinated chicken overnight or for a couple of hours.
  • Make the masala - Dry roast chili in a pan over medium-low heat. Set it aside. Dry roast the remaining ingredients - coriander seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds, and pepper seeds, and cloves. Let it cool down for approximately 5-10 minutes before grinding it to a fine paste along with cloves, crushed garlic and tamarind paste.
  • Roast the chicken - Add 2 tablespoons of ghee in a wok or a kadhai and let the ghee melt over medium heat. Stir-fry the chicken until both sides are browned and the chicken is about 50% cooked. Remove the chicken from the kadhai and set it aside on a plate.
  • Fry the masala - In the same kadhai, add the remaining ghee. Throw in the curry leaves and in about 15-20 seconds, add in the masala paste. Fry the masala for approximately 6-7 minutes so that the raw taste disappears. Add jaggery and the chicken to the kadhai and allow the masala to coat the chicken pieces. Continue to cook the chicken until it is done.
  • Serve hot as side dish with rice and curry.

Faster method

  • Marinate the chicken in a mixture of lemon juice, salt, yogurt, and turmeric powder. Refrigerate the marinated chicken overnight or for a couple of hours.
  • Mix 2 tablespoons of Kundapur Masala powder with minced garlic cloves and tamarind paste to make the masala.

Fry the masala

  • In a kadhai or wok kept over medium heat, add ghee and allow it to melt. Throw in the curry leaves and in about 15-20 seconds, add in the masala paste.
  • Fry the masala for approximately 6-7 minutes so that the raw taste disappears.
  • Add jaggery and the chicken to the kadhai and allow the masala to coat the chicken pieces. Continue to cook the chicken until it is done.
  • Serve hot as side dish with rice and curry.
Read the post...For helpful information on ingredient swaps, storage tips, meal prep ideas, and variations!

Disclaimer: Approximate nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and can vary depending on the exact ingredients/brands used. If you have health issues, please work with a registered dietician or nutritionist.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 13gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 194mgPotassium: 298mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 505IUVitamin C: 69.1mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 1.5mg
Diet: Chicken
Course: Side Dish
Method: Stovetop
Keywords: Mangalorean, spicy, Tangy
Cuisine: Indian
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