Travel along the Western Coast of India, from Malabar, through Mangalore to Goa, and the diversity of their cuisines will amaze you. Ingredients and produce that are so similar, yet with distinct and unique cooking styles, each region has many traditional signature dishes to offer. Kori Sukka (Chicken Sukka) or Dry Chicken Curry in Mangalore style is one such specialty.
Fragrant and just moist enough, this dish brings together all the great flavours of the Konkan coast. Mellow tanginess of tamarind, subtle sweetness of coconut, unmistakable flavours of fried spices, and warm notes of dried chilies, this recipe has it all to make a great chicken delicacy.
What is special about Kori Sukka (Chicken Sukka)?
That’s a good question. There is something unique about this preparation that makes it different from any other chicken delicacy I have come across. We start by dry frying a selection of spices. Sliced onions are added to this mix, and fried just enough. Grated coconut and tamarind is added to this fried mix, and ground to a fine paste. Small pieces of chicken are now fried with some onions, and cooked in this ground paste. Anything special here? Probably not!
But now comes the special one. Just before we switch off, a dose of grated coconut is added to the cooked chicken curry. It’s mixed well, and served fresh with a garnish of coriander leaves. That grated coconut is what completes the chicken sukka. Now that’s special!
Morsels of chicken fried over a low flame with grated coconut and spices. Fresh flavours of the grated coconut is the unique touch of this preparation.
Try this recipe, and you’ll be delighted by the great balance of flavours this coastal delicacy has to offer. And to top it all, this recipe has been tailored to make it easy for you. Try it, share it, and I am sure you’ll love it!
If you like Kori Sukka, don’t forget to check out the chicken pulimunchi recipe as well.
Kori Sukka / Chicken Sukka (Mangalore Style Dry Chicken Curry)
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken cut into small pieces
- 2 medium onion
- 4 - 5 cloves garlic
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- To taste salt
For frying
- 4 dry kashmiri red chillies
- 2 red chillies
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 4 - 6 whole black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon methi seeds fenugreek
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 - 3 cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon tamarind
Instructions
- Clean the chicken, and cut into small pieces.
- Get all the ingredients listed under "For frying" ready.
- Heat a pan, and dry fry* coriander seeds, whole pepper, fenugreek, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, and cloves.
- When they are almost fried, add the dry red chillies**.
- Now add a little oil, garlic and half of the sliced onions.
- Fry while stirring frequently. Fry till the onions start turning brown.
- Add turmeric powder and mix well. Switch off and let the mixture cool down.
- Add 1/4th grated coconut, tamarind, and grind the mixture to a smooth paste in a blender.
- Heat some oil in a pan, and fry the remaining onions to golden brown.
- Add the chicken pieces, curry leaves, salt and fry on a high flame for another 2 minutes while stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground paste, stir well, reduce to a low flame.
- Cook with the lid closed for 10 minutes.
- Open the lid. The chicken should be cooked by now. If the consistency is too dry, add a little water.
- Add the remaining grated coconut, and mix well. Check for salt.
- Cook for a couple more minutes while keeping an eye on the consistency. Don't let it go too dry.
- Garnish with some coriander (cilantro) leaves, and serve hot with neer dosa, chapati or rice.
Notes
- Don't worry about making the chicken boneless. In fact, it's good to have some pieces with bones
- Dry frying the spices and grinding them as shown in this recipe gives a superior, authentic taste compared to the ready-to-use spice powders
- *If you cannot get hold of these ingredients, or if you are too lazy to start from scratch, take coriander powder (1 1/2 tablespoon), garam masala (1 teaspoon), and chilli powder (depending on the heat level and colour), and proceed directly to step 5.
- **Quantity of red chillies largely depends on the amount of heat that you want to add to your dish. I used three Kashmiri chillies (for colour), and two small red chilli peppers (they are hot).
Second time and enjoyed it again .!
I toasted the dessicated coconut and ground with the rest per recipe.
Easy recipe and well illustrated
Thanks so much
Thank you very much, Marguerite! I am glad you enjoyed it.
That’s a nice touch. Sounds like a lovely addition to the dish.
Very easy great recipe
I will definitely make it again
Thank you very much, Marguerite! <3
I am chuffed to hear that you like it!
Can u please let me know by tomorrow
Hello
Ur chicken sukka recipe is awesome nd i always prefer ur recipe thank u for the tasty curry.
Nd i needed one suggestion from ur side can u plz guide me.
For 35 members how many kilo chicken nd ingredients should i have to take.
Hi Chethana,
Thank you very much for your generous feedback! 🙂
Full disclosure – I have never made this dish at the scale you are looking at.
Let me give it a try.
For 35 people, I would recommend 4-5 kilos approx.
4-5 kg chicken cut into small pieces
15 medium onion
15-20 cloves garlic
a fist full of curry leaves (add more happily)
4 cups grated coconut
To taste salt
For frying
30 dry kashmiri red chillies
15 red chillies
10 tablespoons coriander seeds
a fist full whole black pepper
2 teaspoons methi seeds fenugreek
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 inch cinnamon
10 – 15 cloves
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
7-8 teaspoon tamarind
Will be trying this today
Hi Anita,
Thank you. I hope it turned out well. 🙂
Regards
Arun
Super
Thank you very much, Jyothi 🙂
Very authentic taste from our great Karnataka
Thank you very much, Adarsh 🙂
Made this.Perfect to the T.. thanks so much.and this goes with the neer dosa in our tummies ..yummy
Thank you very much, Saroj 🙂
I made this twice now counting today and it came out really well.
Thank you very much, Aarti 🙂
Tried the recipe and turned out to be awesome. Thanks for sharing it. Family just loved it
Hi Nandini,
Thank you very much for the generous feedback 🙂
I am happy to hear that it was well received by your family.
Absolutely delicious. Fool proof recipe. Enjoyed by all. Used 4 Kashmiri + 2 Red chillies. Was spicy but perfect. hank you for sharing.
Thank you very much, Anu 🙂
I guess those 2 red chilies makes all the difference!
I made this today. It turned out so delicious!!
Loved the simplicity.
Also your tips helped a ton! I did not have some of the whole spices, so used powdered form of them.
Hi Shrija,
Thank you very much. That’s such a happy feedback. Love it! 🙂 Happy to hear that the kori sukka turned out well.
Yeah, powdered spices will work fine. It is just that I love the authentic aroma when working with the whole spices, that’s all 🙂
made this last and this weekend….turned out yummy….just added a little garam masala to the finish dish…with ghee tadka…it tasted out of the world
Ghee tadka!! 🙂
Thank you for the feedback, Sakshi.
I am glad you liked my kori sukka recipe and I like the improvisations you included.
I am going to try that next time.
Made it for lunch today and it turned out lip-smacking! Husband is a Mangalorean and he loved it, mehnat vasool 😎 Thank you so much! 🙏🏻
Thank you very much for sharing your feedback, Ritasha 🙂
Happy to hear that it was “mehnat vasool” 🙂
Chef trying an Mangalorian Kori Sukka @ #ADNOC Drilling Abhudhabi…. My colleagues all liked it… Most of them are #Arabs…..
Thank you very much for sharing this Sujith!!
I am super-chuffed reading that the kori sukka was well received!
The dish is absolutely tasty. Made it for my husband’s b’day! In fact grazing around your website, I find all the dishes will turn around excellent. Very innovative and a variety of dishes. Thanks!!
Thank you very much Gargi! 🙂 🙂
I am delighted to learn that my kori sukka recipe was part of a special birthday meal!! I wish him a wonderful year ahead 🙂
Thank you again.
Hi, Today I made chicken sukka it was amazing. My son by looking at your chicken sukka picture, said this picture itself shows this dish would taste great. My son was fighting with me to make this dish on vegetable since my husband & son are vegetarian. Tomorrow i would try your vegetarian recipe & serve my kid.
Thank you very much Renuka. I am delighted to read your feedback about the chicken sukka. I hope the other recipes you tried also came out well! 🙂 🙂
thank you very much i tried this recipe wow superb yummy
Thank you very much Manoj!! Great to hear that the kori sukka came out well 🙂
Excellent recipe! Slight variation on my mother’s recipe but still very good. Dry roasting the spices without burning them is hard but well worth it.
Enjoyed the kori sukka, so will give other recipes a go. Thank you for the recipe. Much appreciated and will be used again and again.
Cheers
Roshni
Thank you very much Roshni! 🙂 🙂
Your comment made my day!!
I agree to you observation on the dry roasting the spices. It is a little extra work, but well worth it.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Since Chicken sukka is my fav recipe, I never tried making it as I was scared I would ruin it forever for me :D. When I saw your recipe, I just knew in my heart this is going to be perfect and it did turn out great,..just the way I like it. Thank you once again.
Hello Prakrathi,
Thank YOU for trying out my recipe. I am delighted reading through your comments, and super happy that you liked cooking the chicken sukka!! 🙂
Hi pls let me know from where did I purchase that steel kadai with lid?
Hello Rina,
Thank you for visiting my blog. That’s a circulon pan with lid that you see in this post. It came as a set.
Looks incredible! I will definitely have to try it out.
Thank you Yvonne. This one is a winner. You are going to love it! 🙂
Nice &Tasty Kori Sukka.
Thank you very much! Glad to hear that you liked the kori sukka! 🙂
Oh I love all of the spices and colors going on here! This is such a flavorful looking chicken dish, can’t wait to try it :-).
Looks great! I love curry flavors so will have to try it out
Just tastes heavenly. Thanx for the wonderful recipe. I have made this recipe before. But this was the best recipe
Thank you very much Vidya. That’s a great feedback!! I am over the moon now! 🙂
This looks incredible! Yum!
Thank you very much 🙂
Hi Arun,
This recipe is awesome! I’ve made it multiple times and I think it’s a keeper. Thanks for sharing. However, I noticed that cumin is visible in the photographs but isn’t there in the recipe card. Did you miss adding that?
Thank you very much Aalia.
About the cumin seeds, that’s a great catch. I did miss out on mentioning it. Thank you. I have updated the recipe card, and the steps now.
Anytime! I really like your blog. I’m going to try the prawns peera next 🙂
Thank you 🙂
I am sure you’ll like the prawns peera too. Do let me know how it goes.
Tried today.. came out very well.. thankyou
Thank you Abirami! 🙂 Happy to learn that it came out well.
Thank you very much Prabhosha. Happy to hear that you liked it!
Delicious dish very tasty and easy recipe
Thank you very much Shilpa. Getting compared to a mom’s recipe is as good as it can get! 🙂
thank you for the recipe….missed my moms cooking..and i could manage to come near to it with this recipe.
Wow. I tried this dish today. Came out finger licking good. Everyone just loved it. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I did Just a small modification, added dry coconut for grinding and a small piece of ginger.
Hi Shanaya,
Thank you very much.
Chuffed to read about the “finger licking good” 🙂
And adding dry coconut was a nice touch. It adds to the flavour.
Thank you @Smith Sonian!
Thank you Serene & Timmy
Your pictures are really cool.
Nice write up! Liked the intro!