A motorbike holiday in Kerala, India is an unforgettable experience. Kerala is the land of pristine beaches, beautiful lighthouses and mesmerizing greenery. In the state, one is spoilt for choices when it comes to decide the bike route. Ideal trip in Kerala would include a bike ride from Cochin towards the Southern Ghats where a wide variety of wildlife can be seen. All through the way the splendid views of the Tea and rubber plantations and paddy fields keeps the rider motivated. On the other hand a bike route at Southern Western Ghats, Kodaikanal welcomes bikers with open arms. The route shall pass through the famous tea plantations treks of Munnar district. The journey then continues towards Ooty and bikers have are required to ride to a height of 2,000 m into the Nilgiri Hills.
The Nilgiris meaning Blue Mountains derives its name from the wild Neelakurinji flowers which during its flowering season, carpets the whole of the mist-clad hill ranges in a swathe of blue and beckons the tourists to experience the scenic beauty. Neelakurinji flowers bloom once in twelve years can be seen only in this Nilgiri hills.
The Badagas are an indigenous people inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills. During my trip to the Nilgiris, I ate some local dishes of the badaga people. One of them was the Nilgiri chicken, which I would like to share with.
Nilgiri chicken
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Chicken on Bone cut into medium sized pieces on bone – 750 grams
Yogurt – 6 tablespoons
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Cloves- 4-5
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
A few thin strips of ginger for garnishing
A few quarters of cherry tomatoes for garnishing
For paste
Spinach blanched – 1 medium bunch
Fresh mint leaves roughly chopped – 1/2 bunch
Fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped – 1/2 bunch
Green chillies roughly chopped – 2
Fennel seeds – 1 teaspoon
Scraped fresh coconut 1 cup
Method
- For the paste, put spinach, mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, fennel seeds and coconut with a little water in a mixer jar and grind to a fine paste.
- Finely chop onions. Heat oil in a deep non-stick pan; add cloves and onions and sauté for a minute.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chicken and salt and mix well. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Add the ground paste and mix well.
- Add yogurt and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Transfer into a serving bowl and serve hot garnished with ginger and tomatoes.
Where do u live??
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Hi Anju, I am from a little beautiful state called Kerala in India now live’s in UK. And nice to meet you. Join with us in this amazing journey of foods😊😍
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UK not too far 7 hour away from Canada. .I will visit to eat or just to look ur food!
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You are always welcome Anju😊
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I just wanted to add here that I tried this recipe today….prepared chicken after months at home n gotta say that I loved this taste…. Its different in taste from coriander, mint n coconut mix which I was used to… Thanks so much for sharing it here….loved it lots!! Menu today – ghee rice, nilgiri chicken n mango pickle 🙂
Thought of adding this too -didnt find onion in the ingredients list -but did add it as suggested in method 🙂
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Thank you for the feed back Mridhula. Glad you like it!! I Like your three course menu aswell😛When ever you follow a recipe, you can make your own variations on your taster and preferences😙 Thanks for letting me know onions not in ingredients list, I will add it to the list:))
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We liked that combo too 🙂 just realized I had missed a whole lot… Hope to catch up!
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Thanks for your feed back Mridhula. Catch you soon with your amazing posts:))
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one restaurant in London we had ‘nilgiri lamb’ ! It was super testy! Since that time I was searching for this recipe! It was exactly the way your gravy looks! Awesome ! Thanks for the recipe!
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I heard of that restaurant and the food is very tasty. Once you made it let me know. Thanks:)
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I did make a version of this today.. with coriander leaves alone, loved the colour of the paste, there is nothing left in wok! 🙂
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Glad you enjoyed Aswt, it could come even better with spinach. Blanching the spinach retains it colour and gives a better flavour aswell.
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can’t have spinach at the moment! therefore the shortcut through coriander 😀 will do..
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A special lovely dish for me to try out. It looks so inviting too. Mmmmmmm!
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Glad you like it. Let me know one you tried😊
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I will, my friend! x
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I like the addition of spinach in this recipe- sounds delicious and looks awesome!
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Thank you. Sandhya
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Hello!! Sandhya I would like to nominate you for the blogger recognition award:)
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Looks and sounds delicious😋
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Yup, this weekend then, it is niligiri chicken.. 🙂 But more than the chicken I love those keeps 😀
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Thanks for the compliment. Aswt:)
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You make it sound so simple! 🙂 I love spinach based dish, like somebody has given me a koodothram in spinach 😀
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😃Me too love spinach!!!
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Yumm…chicken and spinach is delicious!!!
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Thanks you shy.
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This looks like an interesting recipe and just reading you talk about Kerala wants me to travel. 🙂
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Thanks for the compliment and welcome to our little” God’s own country”:)
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Wow! One of my favorite chicken curries using spinach! Your recipes are such a delight…always!! 😀
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Get delighted.Thank you for your sweet comment.☺
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Sure…that makes me try it soon….btw loved that pic too…..n the keys???? keys to taste n tummy?
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Taste is the prime key😀 Thank you.
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Should give this a try…but dont know when for I’ve been avoiding everything nonveg except fish….but this sounds interesting..may be I should give it a try…will let u know when I do!!
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Mridhula you will love it. I bet!!
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