Tamil Nadu Style Chicken Salna

Chicken Salna is a thin and spicy chicken curry from Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India. It tastes delicious with flaky parotta, biryani, or steamed rice (gluten-free).

Here are some more South Indian curries that you may like – Andhra Chicken Curry, Chicken Vindaloo, Malabar Chicken Curry, Chicken Chettinad, and Coconut Curry Chicken.

Jump to:

• About Tamil Nadu Style Chicken Salna
• Ingredients
• How To Make Chicken Salna
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Variations
• Storage Suggestions
• You Might Also Like
• Recipe Card

About Tamil Nadu Style Chicken Salna

Chicken Salna (Chicken Chalna) is a thin and spicy chicken curry from the state of Tamil Nadu.

You will find many roadside shops in busy markets and restaurants along the highways selling this spicy curry with flaky parotta.

There are many versions of this curry that people make. In today’s post, I am sharing the easiest chicken salna recipe I learned from a chef on our visit to Madurai.

This curry can be made in a traditional pressure cooker, instant pot, or a pan over the stovetop. I am sharing all the 3 methods below, pick whichever suits you the best.

Serve this delicious chicken salna with parotta, tawa paratha, dosa, kal dosai, idli, steamed rice, or biryani.

Ingredients

For The Salna Paste

To make salna paste, you will need peanut oil, cumin seeds, fennel seeds (saunf), whole coriander seeds, Kashmiri dry red chilies, curry leaves, green chillies, fresh coconut, white poppy seeds, fresh ginger, garlic, and whole spices like bay leaf, black peppercorns, green cardamoms, and cinnamon.

Note – If peanut oil is not available, then use any cooking oil of your choice. Gingelly oil is also a great alternative. You can replace white poppy seeds with peanuts or cashew nuts. Adjust the green chilies as per your spice level.

For The Curry

Chicken – Bone-in skinless chicken pieces are the perfect choice for this chicken salna recipe. Bones add a lot of flavor to the curry but if you are not a bone-in chicken person, then use boneless chicken cubes.

Spice Powders – Kashmiri red chilli powder and turmeric powder are the only two spice powders used in this curry.

Others – You will also need cooking oil, curry leaves, salt, onions, tomatoes, mint leaves, and cilantro (fresh coriander leaves).

Water used to cook the curry can be replaced with chicken stock for added flavor.

Kuzhambu Milgai Thool is a traditional South Indian spice blend and many traditional recipes have a teaspoon of this spice mix added to them. If you have access to it, then add 1 teaspoon powder along with the other spices and if not, then feel free to skip it as I did.

You can also add a little garam masala powder or curry powder to this curry for a spicy kick

How To Make Chicken Salna

Make The Salna Paste

Heat 4 tablespoon peanut oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 3-4 Kashmiri dry red chilies
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick

and fry them for 4-5 seconds.

Add

• 10-12 curry leaves
• 2-3 green chilies (slit into half)
• ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
• 2 tablespoon white poppy seeds
• 1-inch piece of ginger (sliced)
• 6-8 cloves of peeled garlic

and cook until the coconut is lightly browned (2-3 minutes). Stir frequently.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool down to room temperature.

Add the cooled mixture to a blender along with ½ cup water and make a very fine paste. Scrape the sides of the blender a few times while blending.

Set the ground masala paste aside.

Make The Chicken Salna Curry (In A Traditional Pressure Cooker)

Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pressure cooker on medium-high heat.

Once the oil is hot, add 1 and ½ cups of chopped onions and 15-20 curry leaves and fry until onions turn translucent (4-5 minutes), stirring frequently.

Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder and ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and cook for another minute. Stir frequently while cooking.

Now add 1 lb (500 g) rinsed and drained bone-in skinless chicken (cut into 1-½ inch pieces) and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and roughly chopped mint leaves along with the salna paste that we made earlier.

Add 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt and mix well.

Tip – Add some water to the blender and take out all the paste sticking to the sides and then add this water to the cooker to avoid any wastage of the salna paste.

Close the lid of the cooker.

Cook for 1 whistle on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid.

Check for salt and add more if required. Serve the salna hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Variations

Plain Salna – Plain salna is also called empty salna. To make it, skip adding chicken to the recipe and keep the rest of the recipe the same. It is called plain salna because no chicken or vegetables are added to it. I have a detailed recipe for Plain Salna here.

Vegetable Salna – Replace chicken with vegetables of your choice to make a vegetarian version of salna.

Storage Suggestions

Chicken Salna will last for 3-4 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Reheat it in a pan or microwave until nice and warm. Add in a little water while reheating if you feel the gravy has become slightly thick after refrigeration.

This curry freezes well too. Cool it completely and freeze it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, reheat, and serve.

You Might Also Like

Recipe Card