Tamil Black Pepper Chicken Curry, is a spicy, aromatic curry made with black pepper as the key ingredient. It originates from Tamil Nadu, South India, where black pepper has been cultivated and used in cooking for centuries. This curry has SO many pops of flavor when you eat it.
This dish is spicy, but it is a different kind of spicy from hot chili peppers. The heat comes primarily from the black peppercorns, with a little Kashmiri chili powder added in. Aromatic ginger, garlic, curry leaves, coriander seed, cumin seed, turmeric, mustard seed, and nigella or black onion seeds add layers and layers of flavor to this dish.
Fresh curry leaves, if you have not cooked with them, are earthy, citrusy, and slightly nutty with a mild bitterness. They release a deep aroma when sautéed in hot oil and are one of my all time favorite cooking ingredients. You can get them from Asian or Indian markets. They can be frozen, so buy a bag and freeze them and pull out the amount I need for a dish.
Black onion seeds, or nigella seeds, are another great ingredients that add subtle flavor and depth to curry dishes. They have an onion like flavor that goes well with this dish. This dish is a dry curry, which means it is cooked until the sauce has mostly soaked into the meat. There are typically onions in this dish, but I also added some sliced bell pepper for extra veggies.
We really loved the flavor profile of this, and I will definitely add this meal to my dinner rotation. We love Indian food and I have some other great Indian recipes too.
Tamil Black Pepper Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts thinly sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 3 inch piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tbsp nigella seeds
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat a wok or skillet over medium heat and add the black peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and mustard seeds. Toss them for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a powder.
- Heat a tbsp of oil in a wok or skillet over high heat until smoking. Add the onion and pepper and allow to char slightly. Stir fry for a minute or two until the vegetables have some black spots, then move to a plate.
- Add another tbsp of oil and add the chicken and stir fry with a sprinkle of salt. Cook until browned and add the ginger and garlic. Toss, cooking for a minute or two. Add the curry leaves, spice mix you ground, onions seeds, turmeric, Kashmiri chili, sugar and a little more salt.
- Now add the water. Simmer this mixture over low heat until the water is mostly evaporated and the chicken is coated in the flavorful sauce. Add the onions and peppers back in and toss well. Serve over hot rice. Remove the curry leaves before eating if they are woody/tough.
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