Chicken Salna Recipe
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 421kcal
Chicken Salna is a thin and spicy chicken curry from Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India. It tastes delicious with flaky parotta or steamed rice. Here is how to make it.
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Ingredients
For The Salna Paste
- 4 tablespoons peanut oil or any other cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds (saunf)
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 3-4 whole Kashmiri dry red chilies
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 3-4 whole green cardamoms
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 10-12 curry leaves
- 2 green chilies slit into half
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut packed
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds replace with peanuts or cashew nuts if they are not available
- 1 inch piece of ginger sliced
- 6-8 cloves garlic peeled
For The Curry
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 15-20 curry leaves
- 1 and ½ cups chopped onions
- ½ cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro (cilantro)
- ¼ cup roughly chopped mint leaves
- 1 pound bone-in skinless chicken 500 g, cut into 1-½ inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Make The Salna Paste
- Heat peanut oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, whole coriander seeds, Kashmiri dry red chilies, bay leaf, black peppercorns, green cardamoms, and cinnamon stick and fry them for 4-5 seconds.
- Add curry leaves, green chilies, fresh coconut, poppy seeds, ginger, and garlic, and cook until coconut is lightly browned (2-3 minutes). Stir frequently.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool down.
- Add the cooled mixture to a blender along with ½ cup water and make a very smooth paste. Scrape the sides of the blender a few times while blending.
- Set the ground masala paste aside.
Make The Curry In A Traditional Pressure Cooker
- Heat oil in a pressure cooker on medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add onions and curry leaves and fry until onions turn translucent (4-5 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add tomatoes and saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric powder and cook for another minute.
- Now add washed and drained chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add cilantro (coriander) and roughly chopped mint leaves along with the salna paste that we made earlier.
- Add 2 cups of water and salt and close the lid of the cooker.
- 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.
- 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 needed.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Instant Pot Recipe
Make the salna paste as mentioned in the recipe below. Press SAUTE Button of the instant pot and follow the steps until adding salna paste to the pot. Now add 1 cup of water and close the lid of the pot. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 6 minutes at high pressure. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid. Serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 421kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 261mg | Potassium: 660mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 183mg | Calcium: 239mg | Iron: 4mg