Nattu kozhi kulambu, traditional country style chicken curry recipe made authentic way. This spicy nattu kozhi kulambu is made with shallots, crushed ginger and garlic, whole spices, roasted coconut and masala made from scratch. I have shared three ways of nattu kozhi kulambu which we repeatedly make in our home every weekend just like this chicken kuzhambu. Learn how to make nattu kozhi kulambu with coconut, without coconut, in an open pot (authentic way) and in pressure cooker.
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu
Authentic Nattu kozhi kulambu recipe. This is made using local ingredients and fresh ground spices which take this chicken kulambu to a whole new level. We prefer using nattu kozhi instead of broiler chicken for kuzhambu. Every weekend hubby used to get a kilo of country chicken. At home we used to make three version of kulambu repeatedly every weekend using nattu kozhi. I have shared all those three recipes together in this blog post for easy reference. So you can pick whichever you like as per your need and preference. And also check my ultimate chicken biryani which you can try this weekened.
What is Naatu Kozhi?
Country Chicken or Nattu Kozhi means chicken breed native to India. There are many variety of breeds which are raised for their eggs and meat like Aseel, Kadaknath. While broiler chicken is widely and well known chicken variety used all over India. The meat in Nattu kozhi is little tough and not as tender as regular broiler chicken. So it takes double the time to cook country chicken so it is best to use a pressure cooker to cook nattu kozhi.
About Nattu Kozhi Kulambu
Nattu kozhi also known as country chicken and the curry | gravy made using that is called as kulambu or kuzhambu in and around South of India. It is more popular around Tamilnadu.
The recipe to make nattu kozhi is very similar to out classic chicken kulambu but the cooking time may vary. The recipe calls for basic ingredients like onions, tomatoes, green chillies, spice powders, whole spices, coconut and coriander leaves.
In this tamil recipe of nattu kozhi kulambu I have shared three ways of making the most delicious nattu kozhi kulambu. Each ingredient which I used in this recipes makes this curry taste so exotic. Specially the shallots, tamarind, gingelly oil and fresh roasted spices.
Similar Recipes,
Watch Nattu Kozhi Kulambu Video
Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu Ingredients
Country Chicken(Nattu Kozhi) – Country Chicken or Nattu Kozhi means chicken breed native to India. The meat in Nattu kozhi is little tough and not as tender as regular broiler chicken. So it takes double the time to cook country chicken so it is best to use a pressure cooker to cook nattu kozhi.
Shallots or Onion – I used peeled shallots for making a version of kuzhambu. Onions can be easily used.
Ginger & Garlic– use fresh ginger and garlic for flavour.
Tomatoes – tomatoes adds the tang which the curry needs.
Spice powders – as usual a mix of chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and garam masala are the spices.
Whole spices – fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves are fried in oil to release their wonderful aroma.
Coconut – coconut is ground with poppy seeds to thicken the kulambu. There is one more version of kulambu shared which has no coconut used. Also coconut is roasted and ground with spices in the second recipe.
Tamarind – I prefer to use a little tamarind in nattu kozhi kuzhambu for a delicious balance of taste.
Gingelly Oil – for making authentic nattu kozhi kulambu gingelly oil also known as India sesame oil | nala ennai for making the curry.
3 Recipes for Nattu Kozhi Kulambu
Open Pot Method – This method is much more authentic recipe made in village side of Tamilnadu. The curry is cooked in gingelly oil. It has tamarind, fresh coconut paste and freshly roasted masala for the traditional aroma.
Pressure Cooker Method – This is the most easy and fast method of cooking this kuzhambu. Since country chicken is tough, it is best to cook in pressure cooker. We also call this as varutharacha kozhi kulambu. It has roasted coconut paste used which makes the colour more dark brown.
Kozhi Kulambu without Coconut – This version has more onions, tomatoes which forms the base of the curry. The onion and tomato is sauted and ground into a paste which creates the thickness to the curry.
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (Open Pot Method)
Making Fresh Masala
1)This chicken kuzhambu is made village style (authentic recipe). You start by make a freshly roasted masala. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add in whole spices fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, black pepper and cumin seeds. Toast the spices in oil for few seconds. Add in peeled whole shallots (sambar onion). Saute for 1 minute.
2)Take the roasted onion and whole spices in a blender and make it into a fine puree. Set aside till use.
Making Coconut Paste
3)Now in the same blender jar, take coconut and poppy seeds. Grind them to a smooth paste. Set this aside, we need this in the end of the kuzhambu.
Making Base for the Kuzhambu
4)Heat gingelly oil in a large pot. Traditionally gingelly oil (Indian sesame oil) is used for the kuzhambu. But you can use coconut oil or any preferred oil.
Add in peeled chopped shallots, a handful of curry leaves in the oil and saute for couple of minutes.
5)Once the onions are sauted. Add in ginger garlic paste. I took equal amount of ginger and garlic and crushed in a blender. Add in chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3minutes till it get soft.
6)Add in turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt. Mix well.
7)Mix the onion and tomato till it gets soft.
Cooking Nattu Kozhi
8)Add in cleaned nattu kozhi in the pot. Stir fry with the masala for few minutes. Add in water enough to cover the chicken.
9)Add some tamarind extract. Bring this to a full boil. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on low medium heat for 1 hour to 1:30 hour till the chicken is completely cooked.
Making Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu
10)Once the chicken is cooked and fall apart the bone. Add in the freshly ground masala and the coconut paste.
11)Mix this really well and let it cook on low heat (simmering) for 10 minutes till a layer of oil floats on top.
12)Finally add a handful of coriander leaves and mix well. Nattu Kozhi kuzhambu is ready to serve.
Pressure Cooker Method
Flavourful kozhi kulambu made with freshly roasted spices like coriander seeds, dry red chillies, coconut which is ground into a smooth paste and mixed into the cooked chicken gravy. The curry gets its dark brown colour from the roasted coconut which looks appetizing.
Cooking Nattu Kozhi in Pressure Cooker
1)For Cooking Chicken
- 1 kg Nattu kozhi / Country chicken
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder
- Salt to taste
Take nattu kozhi in a pressure cooker. Add in chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt over pressure cooker. Pour little water and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistle till chicken is cooked.
Roasting Spices
- 1 tsp Oil
- 5 Dry Red Chillies
- 3 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 1 cup Fresh Coconut
2)Heat oil in a kadai. Add in coriander seeds and dry red chillies and toast for 2 minutes till light golden.
3)Once spices is toasted and fragrant. Add in grated coconut and toast till golden brown.
4)Take the roasted spices and the coconut in a blender. Add little water and make it into a fine puree.
5) Heat oil in a kadai. Add in whole spices in hot oil and let them sizzle. Add in ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell leaves.
Whole Spices Used
- 4 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 2 tsp Fennel seeds
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 4 Cardamom
- 4 Cloves
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
Making Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu Base
6)Add in sliced onions into the whole spices. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- 3 large Onion sliced thinly
- 4 large Tomatoes chopped finely
- 1 tbsp Chilli powder
- 2 tbsp Coriander Powder
- 2 tsp Roasted Cumin powder
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala Powder
- 2 Potato peeled and cubed
- Salt to taste
7)Add in chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy.
8)Add in Spice powders and mix well with the onion tomatoes till raw smell leaves.
9)Add in cubed potatoes and mix well with onion tomato masala. Even though potatoes is optional but it adds nice taste to the kuzhambu.
Adding Cooked Chicken
10)Add in the cooked chicken along with the cooking liquid and mix well with the onion tomato masala.
11)Add in the roasted coconut masala and mix well, Simmer for 10 minutes till a thin layer of oil floats on top.
12)Nattu kozhi kulambu with roasted coconut masala is ready.
13)Serve nattu kozhi kulambu is ready to serve.
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (without Coconut)
I mostly make chicken kulambu with coconut. But when I am planning to serve this kuzhambu with roti or chapato, I prefer making it without coconut and uses simple onions and tomato masala base. I ground half of the onions and tomatoes to a smooth paste add added it back into the kulambu for thickness.
Ingredients Used
- 4 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 3 large Onion sliced thinly
- 3 large Tomatoes sliced thinly
- 4 tbsp Chicken Kuzhambu Masala
- 1 kg Chicken
- Water as needed
- Salt to taste
- Coriander leaves for garnishing
For Grinding
- 1 tbsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 4 inch Ginger (peeled and chopped)
- 15 Garlic
How to Make Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (without coconut)
Fresh masala
1)Grind ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, cinnamon to a coarse puree without adding any water. Set aside till needed.
Making onion tomato masala
2)Heat oil in a kadai. Add in sliced onions and cook till light golden brown. This will take around 8 to 10 minutes.
3)Add in the crushed ginger, garlic and whole spices. Saute for 2 minute till raw smell leaves from this.
4)Add in sliced tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes soften and get mushy.
5)Now remove half of the sauted onion and tomato masala and grind to a puree. Don’t need to add water when grinding. The mixture can be slightly coarse.
6)Add the ground onion tomato masala back into the sauted onion tomato mixture. Add in the chicken kuzhambu masala powder. I used store bought chicken kuzhambu masala.
Chef’s Note : If you don’t have kuzhambu masala powder, you can add 1 tbsp chilli powder, 3 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder and 2 tsp garam masala powder.
Cooking chicken
7)Mix the spice powder with the onion tomato masala. Add in chicken and coat well with the masala.
8)I transferred the mixture into a pressure cooker, poured in some water for the gravy. Pressure cook the Nattu kozhi for 5 whistle. Let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker, add in coriander leaves and serve.
Chef’s Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can cook it in the kadai itself. It will take around 1 hour to 1.30 hours for the Nattu kozhi to get cooked.
9)Serve nattu kozhi kuzhambu with rice, roti, parotta.
Expert Tips
- In this same recipe you can use regular chicken instead of country chicken. Regular chicken will take around 30 minutes to cook. If cooking in pressure cooker, give 2 whistle.
- When grinding coconut you can add few cashews for rich taste. Some times I added roasted gram dal with coconut for thickness.
- Instead of shallots you can use onions.
- Make sure you use gingelly oil for authentic taste. You can use coconut oil instead of gingelly oil.
FAQ
What is Naatu Kozhi?
Country Chicken or Nattu Kozhi means chicken breed native to India. There are many variety of breeds which are raised for their eggs and meat like Aseel, Kadaknath. While broiler chicken is widely and well known chicken variety used all over India.
How to boil nattu koli?
The meat in Nattu kozhi is little tough and not as tender as regular broiler chicken. So it takes double the time to cook country chicken so it is best to use a pressure cooker to cook nattu kozhi. You can directly cook it in a pot, it will take around 1 to 2 hours.
Is country chicken good for health?
country chicken is high in protein and lower in fat which is good for health.
What is the English name of Nattu Kozhi?
Nattu kozhi is also known as Country chicken.
More Chicken Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe Card
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu | Authentic Country Chicken Curry ( Village Style )
Nattu kozhi kulambu, traditional country style chicken curry recipe made authentic way. This spicy nattu kozhi kulambu is made with shallots, crushed ginger and garlic, whole spices, roasted coconut and masala made from scratch. I have shared three ways of nattu kozhi kulambu which we repeatedly make in our home every weekend. Learn how to make nattu kozhi kulambu with coconut, without coconut, in an open pot (authentic way) and in pressure cooker.
Servings: 18 servings
Calories: 441kcal
Equipment
Cooking pot
Blender
Pressure cooker
Ingredients
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (in an open pot)
For Freshly Roasted masala
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (in a pressure cooker)
Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu (without Coconut)
Instructions
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (in an open pot)
Nattu Kozhi Kulambu (in a pressure cooker)
Nattu Kozhi Kuzhambu (without Coconut)
Notes
- In this same recipe you can use regular chicken instead of country chicken. Regular chicken will take around 30 minutes to cook. If cooking in pressure cooker, give 2 whistle.
- When grinding coconut you can add few cashews for rich taste. Some times I added roasted gram dal with coconut for thickness.
- Instead of shallots you can use onions.
- Make sure you use gingelly oil for authentic taste. You can use coconut oil instead of gingelly oil.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servings | Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 113mg | Potassium: 834mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1374IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 3mg
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook,Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter for more Yummy Tummy inspiration.
