Kori Gassi

A Mangalorean chicken curry

• CuisineIndian
• CategoryChicken
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 1.2 kgsChicken with bone
• 400 gmsOnions, sliced
• 100 gmsOnions, chopped
• 100 gmsTomatoes, chopped
• 50 gmsGinger, sliced
• 50 gmsGarlic, sliced
• 20Kashmiri chillies
• 10Dried red chillies
• 1 tbspPoppy seeds
• 1 tbspCoriander seeds
• 1 tspCumin seeds
• ½ tspPepper
• ½ tspTurmeric powder
• 6Cloves
• 2 cmsCinnamon
• 4Cardamom
• 1 tspTamarind paste
• 1 cupGrated coconut
• 1 tbspGhee
• 6Curry leaves
•  Oil
•  Salt

Preparation

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add most of the sliced onion, reserving a small amount along with the ginger and garlic and roast till soft
2. Add Kashmiri chillies, dried chillies, poppy seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, pepper, cloves cinnamon, cardamom and grated coconut and roast till flavour is released
3. Grind with tamarind paste and turmeric till fine
4. Heat oil and add chopped onion and fry till soft
5. Add chopped tomatoes and stir till cooked
6. Add the ground paste and 2 cups of water and bring to boil
7. Add chicken and simmer till chicken is cooked
8. Heat ghee in a pan and add the reserved sliced onion and curry leaves
9. Fry till brown and add to the curry

This is perhaps the quintessential Manglorean curry, especially among the Bunt community. It is usually paired with thin, crisp rice chips giving that popular dish of Kori rotti. Kori is the chicken and rotti is the thin rice chips. This dish is the curry part of it, Kori gassi. Gassi is any thin gravy. I know that this is normally anglicised as ghassi but I must emphasize that the g is a soft g as in gana not the hard gh in ghar.

The picture shows it with a substitute for the the other optional pairing with sameda adde - a thin rice noodle. Or it could be rice idlis. Yes, the pairing almost always involves rice. Not having access to sameda adde, I used the Sri Lankan version, string hoppers.

The curry is made with the whole chicken including the bone. No edible part is wasted. It is not unusual to find pieces of liver or skin in it. The chicken available in most supermarkets tends to be on the heavy side. I find a better alternative is smaller twin packs of chicken.