Palamooru Kodi Kura

Palamoor/Palamuru is the old name of the present Mahabubnagar in Telangana state. Many cherished memories of mine are associated with this place as I did my graduation from one of the colleges in Mahabubnagar town. Having spent majority of my college days there with many local friends, I have had the privilege to visit some interior villages nearby. Being a food enthusiast, I had the opportunity of trying few local dishes like Palamuru pottelu kura, nalli mamsam kura, kalchina kura etc. The one dish that stood out most was Kodi Kura that I still remember its taste. So, tried to recreate that dish with a little experiment of my own. It turned out well and my family/cousins have relished this dish. 

Telangana cuisine was unexplored until recently. But now it is slowly gaining its popularity in and around Hyderabad (thanks to few restaurants in the city which have included some local recipes in their menu) and will eventually move to other states. If observed, Telangana cuisine will have equal amounts of chilli and masala in most of the recipes as compared to Andhra cuisine which is more of chilli based.

Here is the recipe 

Cooking Time: 30-40 mins                  Servings:  4 
Preparation Time: 15 mins                 Category:  Main course, Non-Veg. 

Ingredients:
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Chicken (bone/boneless) - 500 gms
Onion sliced - 1
Green Chillies - 5

Palamooru Kodi Kura

Red chillies - 5
Mint leaves - 1 stick
Coriander - 1 stick
Garlic - 5 cloves
Ginger - about an 1/2 inch cube nicely diced
Star anise seeds - 5 or 6
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 small stick
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cooking oil - 4 tbsp
Cloves - 4/5
Bay leaf - 1


Preparation Method:
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• Heat a pan and dry roast cumin, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, green & red chillies, star anise, cinnamon etc. When they start to pop, add sliced onions, chopped mint & coriander leaves and dry roast for about another 10 mins on low heat.
• Take these out and when cold blend all these into a thick paste and keep aside.
• In a bowl, take the chicken pieces and add half of this paste, turmeric powder, 1 tsp lemon juice. Mix well and let it marinade for 1 hr. (Adding chilli powder is optional. In case you wish to, add no more than 1 tsp as we already have green & red chillies and garam masala)
• Heat the oil in a kadai/cooking vessel. Add cloves, bay leaf and after few seconds add the marinated chicken to it. Mix well and close the vessel with a lid. Cook for 20 mins on high heat (stirring at regular intervals to avoid the paste sticking at the bottom of the vessel).
• Add the remaining paste and lemon juice, salt, 1 cup of water and mix well. Cook until the dish starts to ooze out the oil and the gravy thickens.
• Now add garam masala, stir it well and turn off the stove/heat.
• Take the dish into a serving bowl. Garnish with sliced onion rings & fried green chillies and serve hot. This dish goes well with jawar roti, tandoori roti, naan, chapathi, steam rice and Bagara Rice too.