Kundapuri Chicken With Kokum "Kundapuri Koli/Kori"

This version of chicken curry originates from the "Kundapura" region of Karnataka. Other than that I don't know much about the dish except that it is lip-smacking delicious! The specialty about this recipe is that I have tried it with Kokum to give it a sweet sour taste. Recipe minimally adapted from here.

What is Kokum? To put it in a nut-shell, Kokum is dark purple to black, sticky and with curled edges. The fruit is often halved and dried, so that the dried seeds are visible in their chambers like a citrus fruit. It is usually available as a dried rind, resembling a thick plum skin. When added to food it imparts a pink to purple colour and sweet/sour taste. For more info, refer this site.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Chicken Thighs, skinned, cleaned and cut
• 3-4 Tbsp Olive Oil 
• Salt, as needed
• Cilantro, for garnish

For the Rub:

• 5-6 Dry Red Chilies, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaves
• 2-3 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 1/2 Medium Yellow Onion, diced

For the Curry:

• 3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
• 2 Medium Yellow Onions, peeled and diced
• 1 Tsp Red Chili powder or as needed
• 2 Tbsp Coriander Powder, for thickening the gravy
• 6 pieces Kokum
• 2 Grated Balls of Fresh or Frozen Coconut
• 1/4 Cup Skimmed Milk

Procedure:

• Dry fry the coriander seeds, curry leaves and garlic for 3-4 minutes on medium flame until the seeds emit aroma.

• Soak  Kokum in a cup of hot water for 20 minutes (To facilitate easy extraction of juice)

• Roughly grind dry fried ingredients. To it add  the soaked red chilies, 1/2 diced onions and grind it to a coarse paste along with little salt.

• Rub the chicken with the coarse paste.Let it sit for at-least 2 hours. I usually let it sit in the refrigerator.

• In a tbsp of Oil, brown the chicken pieces. Remove from pan.

• In the same pan, add the diced onions and fry till translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes.

• Add red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Stir to incorporate. Move the chicken back and let it coat with the spiced onion-tomato gravy evenly. 

• Squeeze the Kokum and extract juice. Pour it into the pan. Add 1 to 1-1/2 Cups water. It all depends on how thick or thin you want the curry.

• Add salt as needed and let the chicken cook in medium flame for about 15 minutes or until it is 95% cooked.

• Check for taste. Add more chili powder or salt if needed. Grind the grated coconut balls with milk. Pour it over the chicken. Let is cook for 5 more minutes. 

• Garnish with Cilantro and the curry is ready.

Enjoy!