Andhra Style Chicken Curry
on Oct 03, 2021, Updated Oct 17, 2023
Andhra Style Chicken Curry (Kodi Kura) is a spicy and flavorful chicken curry from the South Indian state of Andra Pradesh in India. This curry gets its unique flavor from the freshly roasted spice mix. Here is how to make it in the traditional style (gluten-free).
Table of Contents
About Andhra Chicken Curry
Andhra Style Chicken Curry (Kodi Kura) is a hot and spicy curry that is easy to make using minimal ingredients and is loaded with flavors.
Every household in Andhra has its way of making it.
Some people make it with tomatoes, and some, especially in coastal Andhra, add coconut milk or ground coconut paste. There is a version that uses yogurt in place of tomatoes.
The Andhra chicken curry recipe I am sharing in this post is a simple one I learned from a friend. It has a base of onions and tomatoes, and a freshly roasted spice mix is added to it, giving it a unique taste.
There is no need to marinate the chicken for hours (just 10-15 minutes will do) to make this curry, and you can easily scale up the recipe if you are making it for a crowd.
Here are some more South Indian chicken recipes that you might like
- Chicken Salna
- Chicken Chettinad
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Coconut Curry Chicken
- Malabar Chicken Curry
- Chettinad Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
To Marinate The Chicken
Marinate chicken with turmeric powder, Guntur red chili powder, salt, and freshly squeezed lime juice.
I like to use skinless bone-in chicken cut into 1 and ½-inch chunks to make this curry. Bones give a lot of flavor to the curry and, hence, are highly recommended.
If you are not a bone-in chicken person, you can use boneless chicken pieces too.
Traditionally, Guntur chili powder is used to make this Andhra-style chicken curry. It is a hot and fiery chili that makes this curry hot.
If you want mildly hot curry, replace Guntur chili powder with Kashmiri red chili powder.
For The Spice Mix
To make the freshly roasted spice mix, you will need whole spices like coriander seeds, cumin seeds, white poppy seeds (khus khus, posta dana), cinnamon (dalchini), cloves (laung), and whole black peppercorns (kali mirch).
If poppy seeds are unavailable, replace them with cashew nuts or white sesame seeds.
For The Curry
Oil – Use any cooking oil that you prefer.
Others – You will also need curry leaves, green chilies, onions, ginger-garlic paste, tomato puree, garam masala powder, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).
This Andhra kodi kura curry is supposed to be very hot, but you can adjust the chili as per your taste.
How To Make Andhra Chicken Curry (Stepwise Photos)
Marinate The Chicken
Mix
- 1 pound (500 g) bone-in skinless chicken (cut into 1 and ½ inch chunks)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoon Guntur red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
in a bowl and keep aside.
Make The Masala Powder
Add
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 2-3 cloves
- 3-4 whole black peppercorns
to a small skillet, dry roast on medium flame until slightly browned and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Stir continuously while roasting.
Add 1 tablespoon white poppy seeds (or 8-10 cashew nuts) and roast for another minute.
Remove the skillet from heat and let the spices cool down.
Transfer them to a grinder and grind to make a fine powder. Set it aside.
Make The Curry
Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, add
- 15-20 curry leaves
- 2-3 teaspoon chopped green chillies
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
and cook until the onions are translucent (5-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
Add 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and cook until onion turns slightly browned (5-6 minutes). Stir frequently.
Add the marinated chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.
Add the ground masala powder and ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and mix well.
Now add ½ cup of canned tomato puree and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in 1 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid.
Reduce the heat to low and cook until the chicken is tender (40-45 minutes). Stir a few times while cooking.
Check for salt and add more if needed.
Garnish with 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Follow the steps until water is added to a pressure cooker. Close the lid and cook on high flame for 3 whistles. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid and serve the curry.
To make it in an instant pot, press SAUTE and follow the steps until water is added. Secure the instant pot lid and set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes at high pressure. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then, manually release the remaining pressure and open the pot lid. Serve!
Serving Suggestions
Serve spicy Andhra Chicken Curry with Steamed Rice or Ghee Rice. It tastes great with Phulka, Plain Tawa Paratha, or Lachha Paratha.
Storage Suggestions
This delicious chicken curry can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
To reheat in a pan over the stovetop, transfer the leftover chicken curry into a saucepan or a deep skillet. Place the saucepan on the stovetop over low to medium heat. If the curry has thickened after refrigeration, add some water.
Stir the curry occasionally to ensure even heating and to prevent sticking or burning. Allow the curry to simmer gently for 5-10 minutes until heated.
To reheat it in a microwave, transfer the chicken curry to a microwave-safe dish or bowl. Cover the dish with a microwave-safe lid or microwave-safe plastic wrap, leaving a small vent for steam to escape.
Microwave the curry on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the dish from the microwave, carefully remove the cover, and stir the curry.
Place it back in the microwave and heat for another 1-2 minutes until the desired temperature is reached.
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Spicy Andhra Style Chicken Curry Recipe (Kodi Kura)
Ingredients
To Marinate The Chicken
- 1 pound skinless bone-in chicken (500 g, cut into 1 and ½ inch chunks, rinsed, and drained well)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons Guntur red chili powder (use Kashmiri red chili powder for milder curry)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
For The Masala Powder
- 1 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 cloves (laung)
- 3-4 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1 tablespoon white poppy seeds (khus khus) (or 8-10 cashew nuts)
For The Curry
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 15-20 curry leaves
- 2-3 teaspoons chopped green chilies (or to taste)
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ cup canned tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
Instructions
Marinate The Chicken
- Mix chicken, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, and lime juice and keep aside.
Make The Masala Powder
- Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, and black peppercorns to a small skillet and dry roast on medium flame until they are slightly browned and fragrant (2-3 minutes). Stir continuously while roasting.
- Add poppy seeds and roast for another minute.
- Remove the skillet from heat and let the spices cool down.
- Transfer them to a grinder and grind to make a fine powder. Set it aside.
Make The Curry
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add curry leaves, green chillies, onions, and salt, and cook until the onions are translucent (5-6 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add ginger garlic paste and cook until onion turns slightly browned (5-6 minutes). Stir frequently.
- Add the marinated chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times.
- Add the ground masala powder and garam masala powder and mix well.
- Now add tomato puree and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in 1 cup of water and cover the pan with a lid.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook until the chicken is tender (40-45 minutes). Stir a few times while cooking.
- Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Excellent recipe! The only thing I did differently was to reduce the Guntur chili powder to 1.5 tsp and the green chili to 1 seeded Serrano. Spicy and tasty!
Wonderful. Didn’t even have poppy seeds, garam masala, coriander leaves, curry leaves and green chillies. Omitted all these and yet it was so delicious. It would definitely have been more fragrant with the addition of the omitted items.
Hi! Which garam masala you used? Homemade or store bought?
I use homemade garam masala but you can use a good quality store bought one too.