Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Mangalorean Ghee Roast Chicken
Mangalorean Ghee Roast Chicken (Curry Leaf & Ghee Fried Chicken)

Mangalorean Ghee Roast Chicken

Curry Leaf & Ghee Fried Chicken
Non-vegetarianOrigin Mangalore

A Mangalorean-style chicken dish coated in yoghurt and turmeric, then simmered in a ghee-fried onion and red chilli masala until tender. It tastes rich, tangy and gently spicy, with curry leaf and jaggery balancing the heat.

Marinade turmeric

1.5 gStirred into the yoghurt marinade (step 1)
01
1.5 g½ teaspoon
spice
Stir into the yoghurt with salt before coating the chicken.

Masala paste

21 gDry-roasted and blended into the paste (steps 2–4)
02
2.9 g1 teaspoon
spice
03
3.4 g2 teaspoons
spice
04
2.1 g1 teaspoon
spice
05
4 g2 teaspoons
spice
Grind with garlic, ginger and water to a smooth paste.

Everything else

02
30 g2 tablespoons
dairy
03
to taste
salt
04
40 g3 tablespoons
oil/fat
05
100 g
vegetable
06
2.5 g10 leaves
herb
07
7 g2 teaspoons
sweetener
08
31 g2 tablespoons
souring agent
09
Garlic · Lehsunroughly chopped
9 g3 cloves
aromatic
10
Fresh ginger · Adrakroughly chopped
10 g2½ cm
aromatic
11
99 g100 ml
liquid

Method

  1. Stir the marinade turmeric (1.5 g ground turmeric) and salt to taste into 30 g greek yoghurt, then coat 700 g skinless chicken on the bone with the mixture and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
  2. To start the masala paste, heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add 9–10.5 g dried kashmiri chilli and roast for 5 minutes until darker, then transfer to a plate to cool.
  3. In the same pan, dry-roast 2.9 g black peppercorn, 3.4 g coriander seeds, 2.1 g cumin seed and 4 g fennel seed over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
  4. Put the roasted chillies and dry-roasted spices in a blender with 9 g garlic, 5 g ginger and 99.4 g water, then blend to a fine smooth paste; set the masala paste aside.
  5. Heat 39.6 g ghee in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat, add 100 g finely chopped white onion and fry for 8–9 minutes until softened and starting to colour.
  6. Add the masala paste and fry for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until the oil begins to separate.
  7. Add the marinated chicken with any leftover marinade, raise the heat slightly and stir for 7–8 minutes to seal the chicken pieces.
  8. Season with salt to taste, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
  9. Add 2.5 g curry leaf, 7.2 g jaggery and 30.6 g lemon juice, stir until the jaggery dissolves, and serve warm.

Don't have something?

Skinless chicken on the bone
Greek yoghurt
Ground turmeric
  • Ground ginger

    Use 50% of the weight. Mimics turmeric's warm, earthy, rhizome background, but provides none of the golden-yellow colour.

  • Saffron

    Steep a tiny pinch (0.1 g per 2 g turmeric) in 2 tbsp warm water; use to match the rich golden hue. Contributes an aristocratic, honeyed floral flavour rather than earthy bitterness.

Ghee
  • Unsalted butter

    Use 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.

  • Mustard oil

    Use equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

White onion
  • Brown onion

    Use the same weight; it is the closest everyday match, with a slightly deeper sweetness when fried.

  • Red onion

    Use the same weight; it is sharper and will tint the dish pink, so cook a little longer for sweetness.

  • Shallot

    Use the same weight; it is milder and sweeter, so reduce frying time slightly to avoid burning.

Curry leaf
  • Bay leaf

    Fry 1 bay leaf for every 5 curry leaves in hot oil; imparts a warm, woodsy background note, but misses the citrus-sulphury punch entirely.

  • Lime juice

    Add a small squeeze (about 5 ml per sprig of curry leaves) right before serving; provides sharp citrus top notes without the toasty, herbal aroma.

Jaggery
  • Granulated sugar

    Use 80% of the weight. Granulated sugar is sweeter by weight, but gives a cleaner, one-dimensional sweetness that lacks jaggery's caramel, molasses depth.

  • Raisin

    Soak and blend into a paste; use 100% to 120% of the weight. Adds rich, natural, fruity sweetness with complex, dark molasses notes that thicken the gravy.

Lemon juice
  • Lime juice

    Use equal volume or weight; delivers almost identical sharp acidity with a faintly more aromatic, bitter-edged profile.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight (about 1 g amchoor for 4 g juice); provides clean fruity tartness without thinning the sauce.

  • White vinegar

    Use 75% of the volume; gives direct sourness without any citrus floral fragrance.

Dried kashmiri chilli
  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 1 g powder for every 1.5 g whole dried chilli; whisk with a spoonful of warm water and stir into the masala to provide identical ruby colour and mild heat.

  • Dried red chilli

    Use 35% to 40% of the weight; discard seeds before tearing into oil to temper. Delivers a much fiercer heat, with significantly less red colouring.

Black peppercorn
  • Coarsely ground black pepper

    Use 75% of the weight. Add midway through simmering; spreads heat evenly through the dish instead of delivering isolated bursts.

  • Ground black pepper

    Use 50% of the weight. Stir in near the end of cooking; significantly darkens light gravies and provides an immediate, sharp bite.

Coriander seeds
  • Ground coriander

    Use 75% of the weight; stir in along with wet masala or tomato purée rather than frying in hot oil, as the fine powder burns instantly.

  • Cumin seed

    Use 50% of the weight for tempering in hot oil. Lacks the floral, sweet citrus flavour of coriander, introducing warm, pungent earthiness instead.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 50% of the weight in tempering; provides pleasant aromatic sweetness, though noticeably aniseedy rather than citrusy.

Cumin seed
  • Ground cumin

    Use 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Fennel seed
  • Aniseed

    Use 75% of the weight. Fry in hot oil or ghee; has a sharper, more pronounced liquorice flavour, so use a lighter hand.

  • Ground fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight. Stir into the sauce with ground masalas; provides identical sweet aniseed flavour without whole seed crunch.

  • Star anise

    Use one point (single carpel) per 1 g of fennel seeds. Simmer in gravies and remove before serving; gives a deeper, woodier liquorice aroma.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Water
  • Stock

    Use the same weight in savoury dishes; it adds body, so adjust salt.

  • Milk

    Use the same weight only in doughs or creamy dishes; it makes the result richer.

  • Coconut water

    Use the same weight in curries or rice; it adds sweetness and a faint coconut taste.

Similar dishes

Tamil Chicken Kozhumbu
Chicken Cooked with Black Pepper, Fennel Seeds, Cloves and Curry Leaves
Tamil Chicken Kozhumbu tastes peppery and aromatic with gentle heat and a thick tomato-onion sauce, while this dish tastes tangy, lightly sweet and rich with ghee.
  • Same: Tamil Chicken Kozhumbu shares bone-in skinless chicken, curry leaves, garlic, ginger, turmeric, black peppercorn, cumin, coriander seeds and dried Kashmiri chilli with this dish.
  • Different: Tamil Chicken Kozhumbu uses vegetable oil, tomato, green bird’s eye chilli, cinnamon, clove, poppy seed and fennel, and it lacks the yoghurt marinade, ghee, jaggery and lemon of this dish.
Keralan Kozhi Kuttan
Chicken Curry with Chillies and Coconut Milk
Keralan Kozhi Kuttan tastes rich and gently hot with coconut milk, tomato and aromatic fennel, cassia and cardamom, so it is less tangy and less sweet than this dish's ghee, curry leaf, jaggery and lemon profile.
  • Same: Keralan Kozhi Kuttan shares with this dish a yoghurt-and-turmeric chicken marinade, dried Kashmiri chilli, coriander seeds, fennel seed, black peppercorn, garlic, ginger and onion.
  • Different: Keralan Kozhi Kuttan uses vegetable oil and thick coconut milk instead of ghee, adds tomato, green bird's eye chilli, cassia bark and green cardamom, and lacks curry leaves, jaggery and lemon juice.
Mangalorean Kori Ghassi
Spiced Chicken Curry with Curry Leaves, Garlic, Chilli and Tamarind
Mangalorean Kori Ghassi is hot, aromatic and sour-savoury with a rich coconut body, while this dish is rich, tangy and lightly sweet with ghee and curry-leaf flavour.
  • Same: Mangalorean Kori Ghassi shares bone-in chicken, curry leaves, dried Kashmiri chilli, coriander seeds, cumin seed, black peppercorn, onion and turmeric with this dish.
  • Different: Mangalorean Kori Ghassi uses vegetable oil, toasted coconut, coconut cream, tamarind paste, fenugreek seed and ground cinnamon, and it lacks this dish's ghee, yoghurt, jaggery and lemon juice.
Koli Milagu Masala
Pepper Chicken from Chettinad
Koli Milagu Masala tastes more deeply savoury and pepper-forward with a thick onion-tomato gravy, while this dish is richer from ghee and more tangy and lightly sweet from lemon and jaggery.
  • Same: Koli Milagu Masala shares with this dish a South Indian chicken base built on curry leaves, dried red chilli, coriander, cumin, fennel, black pepper, garlic, ginger, onion and turmeric.
  • Different: Koli Milagu Masala uses vegetable oil instead of ghee, adds tomato, urad dal, bay leaf, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and poppy seeds, and lacks the yoghurt marinade, jaggery and lemon juice used in this dish.