The legendary 'puttu kozhi' is simply elegant cooking. Attending to every little detail to enhance the taste of all the elements in the dish, this is the perfect Christmas chicken that will adorn the table.

Ingredients
1 ½ kg full chicken

For the puttu stuffing

2 cup puttu powder
1 cup water
1 pinch salt
1 cup coconut grated
2 tbsp ghee
2 onions chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped fine
2 green chillies, chopped fine
Heart and liver of the chicken, chopped into bits
½ tsp black pepper powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper, as required

For the gravy

1 coconut grated
¼ cup coconut oil
2 big onions, sliced thin
1 small piece ginger, julienne
4 green chillies, slit length-wise
2 sprigs of curry leaves
3 tbsp coriander powder
1 ¼ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp fennel powder
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 piece cinnamon
3 cloves
1 cardamom
10 cloves of garlic
7 shallots
½ cup + 1 tbsp Ghee

For the seasoning

3 shallots, chopped thin
3 dried red chillies
A handful of curry leaves

Preparation
Dress the chicken well, leaving the skin on
Mix the puttu powder with salt, add little water and keep for some time before making it wet enough to make puttu
Make the puttu in a steamer layering it with the grated coconut. Keep this aside
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the onions, ginger and green chillies and sauté well
To this, add the chopped heart and liver and cook for few minutes
Add some water if required
Once this is done, add the pepper powder and the garam masala powder
Combine this masala with the cooked puttu and remove from the fire
You could also try boiling an egg and chopping it up to add to the stuffing but this is optional
Take the dressed chicken and marinate the inside of the chicken with some lemon juice, salt and pepper powder
Fill the chicken with the prepared puttu stuffing
The remaining stuffing can be served as such
Using a thick needle and thread, stitch up the neck and the stomach portion so the stuffing doesn't fall out
Cross the chicken legs together. The neck and wings should be tied close to the torso
For making the gravy, prepare fresh coconut milk from the grated coconut and the water. Keep this aside
Make milk of three different consistencies from the coconut that remains
In a big enough cooking vessel, heat some coconut oil and fry sliced onions, chillies, ginger and curry leaves for 3 or 4 minutes
After this grind together all the dry masala powders, the whole spices along with the garlic cloves and shallots and add this to the oil
Add the 2nd and 3rd coconut milk to this and simmer for some time
Into this boiling gravy, slowly lower the stuffed chicken. The chest part should come below. Close the lid and leave it on the stove for the chicken to get cooked
Once the chicken is cooked, slowly remove the chicken from this gravy. (Chicken that has been cooked like this could also be stored in the freezer in a well-sealed container for future use)
In a separate pan, heat the ghee and add the cooked chicken. Fry till it turns golden brown. Once done, move it to the serving plate
Into this frying pan, add the cooked gravy, boil it and then add the thick 1st coconut milk. Remove from the fire
In another pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and add the chopped shallots, dried red chillies and the curry leaves
When the shallots turn brown, add this to the prepared gravy
Serve this gravy in a gravy boat and have it along with the roasted chicken

TAGS