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Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

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Kori Ghassi (Bunt Style Spicy Chicken Curry)

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Any Mangalorean will find it easy to slide into a new cosmopolitan city – ready to mingle and blend into the crowd. This is simply because Mangalore itself has always been such a cosmopolitan place in its own special way. No, I am not talking about pubs or malls – both of which have been mushrooming in the past decade or so, but about the cultural influences that have shaped each of us since decades. Like I mentioned in so many of my previous posts, Mangalore is a small place with so many cultures, languages and religious beliefs all of which are tightly interwoven into the fabric of our lives and have a great impact on our cuisine as well.
I can’t stop comparing Mangalore’s cultural heritage to the lovely ‘garam masala’ which is a blend of different fragrant spices, unique in their own way but all the more charming as a mixture – so also, in Mangalore you can find different communities which in so many ways contribute to our beautiful town – the Tulu speaking Bunts and non Bunts, the Kannada speaking Brahmins, non Brahmins and Protestant Christians, the Konkani speaking Catholics and GSBs (Goud Saraswat Brahmins) and non GSBs (with influences from North Canara), the Beary Bashe speaking Bearys (also known as Byari – the local Muslim community), the Malayali, Gujrati and Marwadi traders and business communities settled in Mangalore all influence our culture. Irrespective of whether they are locals or those settled in Mangalore since centuries, each one takes great pride in being called a ‘Mangalorean’

So it goes without saying that those born and brought up in Mangalore have definitely savoured a meal speciality of any one or all of the above mentioned communities – Sanna & Pork, Avial, Dalitoy, Mutton Biryani (Muslim wedding special) to mention a few. I hope to be able to revisit those memories by recreating some of those meal time experiences in my own kitchen. For now, I’d like to share my favourite Bunt style Chicken Curry. ‘Kori’ means Chicken in Tulu – the local language of Mangalore and ‘Ghassi’ means a spicy thick gravy. I have always loved the way it was made and was delighted to find the recipe in a nice blog – Cherie’s Stolen Recipes recently and ‘stole’ the recipe from there. Thank you Charishma 🙂
The Bunt community is known for their tongue tickling spicy delicacies, well groomed, mannered and classy men & women – not to forget the beautiful & talented women risen up to international fame and  became global icons of fashion & beauty – yes, our very own Aishwarya Rai, Shilpa Shetty and a whole lot of gorgeous women. The Bunts have also been pioneers in the hotel industry with humble beginnings with the Udupi (also known as Udipi) restaurants across the world, predominantly in Bombay.
I remember having my first breakfast in Bombay in a small Udupi restaurant near my place and my hubby told  me that the best way to know if it was being run by a Mangalorean was to notice that besides great service, you get your glass of water within 2 minutes of being seated at a table.
I think I need to keep some stories for next time, for now, enjoy this spicy, authentic Mangalorean Bunt Chicken curry!
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Kori GhassiServes: 6-8



You Need:

  • 1 kg chicken
 For the masala (ingredients to be roasted)
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 onion – sliced
  • 1 tsp poppy seeds (optional)
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon
  • 2 cups grated coconut
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 8 long red chillies (for colour) – I used 6 kashmiri chillies to tone down the spice
  • 6 short red chillies (for spice) – I used 5 long red chillies (kumti) as I ran out of short chillies
  • 3 tsp coriander
  • 1/4 tsp jeera
  • 8-9 peppercorns (increase it upto 15 if you like it spicy)
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek (methi)
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic (Indian ones)
  • 1 marble size ball of tamarind
For the gravy:
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 tomatoes chopped fine
  • 2 cups coconut milk
For the tempering (fon/tadka/bagar)
  • 1 sliced onion
  • 1 tbsp ghee
Method:
1. Heat a large thick bottomed pan and add 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the sliced onion, poppy seeds, cloves and cinnamon till the onions turn golden brown. Toss in the grated coconut and fry for about 2 minutes till you get a nice fragrance, add the turmeric powder and toss for about 6-7 minutes and the coconut looks well toasted.
2. Add the chillies, coriander seeds, cumin and peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, tamarind and garlic and roast for another 2-3 minutes. Turn off the flame and allow to cool. Grind to a fine paste using little water.
3. In another large pan heat some about 1 tbsp ghee and fry 1 chopped onion till golden brown and toss in the chopped tomatoes and continue to fry on slow flame till they turn to a paste. You can add some salt at this point which helps the tomatoes to turn into a paste faster.
4. Add the chicken and about 4-5 tbsp of ground masala and salt and mix well. Cover and cook till 90% done.
5. Add the remaining masala and the coconut milk and a little water to adjust the consistency of the gravy and bring it to a boil.
6. In a smaller pan heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry 1 sliced onion and when it turns golden brown, add this mixture/seasoning to the chicken curry.
7. Serve hot with the accompaniment of your choice – Rice, Neer dosa, Sannas or Kottige (idlis steamed in jackfruit leaf baskets)Pin
 
Kori Ghassi Served with Kottige (Idlis steamed in Jackfruit Leaves)
Recipe adapted from Cherie’s Stolen Recipes

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Comments

  1. Charishma says

    Wow shireen this ghassi looks yum.i am so honoured that you (who i consider to have the best mangaloren recipes) mentioned my blog.really touched.thank you shireen.

    Reply

  6. Priya says

    Am not that much familiar with mangalorean dishes, Shireen this bunt style chicken curry looks incredible and makes me hungry..

    Reply

  16. Anonymous says

    Shireen, I made the same as written here and it turned out swell. Great recipe with lots of tips and easy steps. Will make the fig jam next.

    Reply

  22. crajeediamond says

    This is the most awesome Kori Ghassi recipe i have ever tried and with your permission I will publish an adapted version of it on my new Blog.

    Thanks in advance.

    Varun

    Reply

  34. Shireen Sequeira says

    Hi Atul,

    Thank you so much for trying out this recipe 🙂 I am on top of the world after seeing a comment from an esteemed chef like you. Yes, I am still in Dubai, we moved here in April 2013.

    Reply

  36. Renju Joseph says

    Hi shireen … Thank u so much for sharing such a beautiful recipe … This is the best chicken curry we ever had … I made it last week.. My husband requested me to make it again this week.. My God, can't explain how tasty it is… Spicy lil sweet n tangy .. And the ghee and coconut milk makes the dish so rich .. Don't have words to appreciate it… God bless u n tnx a lot once again

    Reply

  37. Renju Joseph says

    Hi shireen … Thank u so much for sharing such a beautiful recipe … This is the best chicken curry we ever had … I made it last week.. My husband requested me to make it again this week.. My God, can't explain how tasty it is… Spicy lil sweet n tangy .. And the ghee and coconut milk makes the dish so rich .. Don't have words to appreciate it… God bless u n tnx a lot once again

    Reply

  43. Rian R says

    M confused what this article is about? kori ghassi or "bunts"? didnt see any "bunts" spice in this recipe… it is same as how everyone else i know in manglore prepares the ghassi… :/

    Reply

  44. GRISHI says

    Hi shireen, being a bunt myself i had never tried cooking as mom would always b running behind my studies… trust me ua recieps are absolutely amazg not only kori gassi bt sukha too i made n now she believes i cook good… hehhe thanks to u… plz start puttg up sum punjabi dishes too or like prawns koliwada n all coz i dnt find u there as i always keep searching ua site for it..

    Reply

  46. Shireen says

    @ GRISHI: Thanks so much for that great compliment 🙂 Happy to know that being a bunt you find my recipes upto the mark! I will definitely be posting more North Indian recipes soon 🙂 Do stay tuned!

    Reply

  47. Shireen says

    @ Rian: Now I am confused about what you are confused about!! This is my food blog in which I record recipes tried by me…so this is a bunt style chicken curry. Simple. What's the confusion about?

    I have only given an intro for people new to our Mangalorean cuisine. What is common for you may be new to others. Right? And just so you know, the chicken curry that Bunts prepare is slightly different from what other communities in Mangalore prepare (like Catholics, Konkanis etc).

    Reply

  49. Sandip says

    Turned out very tasty. I did get nervous and cut down on the chillis slightly. And used a little sugar (I am a Bong after all). But also because I was afraid of the spice level. But it all worked out great. next time I will dare to do it without that bit of sugar.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Sandip,

      I am so glad to hear that the Kori Ghassi turned out well! Next time you can try using chillies without seeds! But yes, do skip the sugar 🙂

      Reply

  50. M Ferns says

    Shireen, I’m excited to try this recipe. Planning to make it for a lunch party – If i use 3kgs of chicken, do I just triple all ingredients?

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Mavis,

      Well, if you are tripling the ingredients you need to be careful with the spice level. Don’t triple the quantity of chillies, for 3 kgs of chicken you could use a total of 20 chillies. Later you can always add some plain kashmiri chilli powder if you find that the curry is less spicy, but if it becomes too spicy it is difficult to reduce the spice.

      Reply

  51. Sandra Lobo says

    Shireen, I am a Mangalorean in Boston, USA and I always look up recipes on your blog, because neither my mother nor my grandmother wrote their delicious recipes down!
    I loved what you said about the wonderful, flavorful yet harmonious Garam Masal that the communities of Mangalore have firmed over centuries. It needs to be emphasized in today’s world full of communal and racist strife, in India and across the planet.
    Thank you for yhe recipes and the wisdon!

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Thank you so much for your kind words Sandra! If we all keep the ‘garam masala’ concept in mind, the world will surely be a better place to live in, isn’t it? 🙂

      Reply

  52. AmitaP says

    Tried this recipe and it was really super delicious.. have been preparing this almost every other week as my husband loves it.. it tastes great with rice, kori rotti, and also garlic bread.. thank you so much for the recipe and making my life easier with your wonderful recipes..

    Reply

  53. Lavina D’Souza says

    Hello Shireen,
    I tried this recipe today and it came out delicious and accurate, reminded me of home and Sunday afternoons. Thank you for sharing and for such clear instructions.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Lavina,

      Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed the curry so much 🙂 Happy to know that you like my recipes too!

      Reply

  55. Pallavi says

    Wow. I have been following the exact same method to prepare kori gassi since years. The only difference is that I do not use poppy seeds and use bedgi chillies in place of kashmiri/kumti.

    Kori gassi tastes best with rutti and even idlis.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      That’s lovely! Kumti chillies are bedgi chillies itself, just a different name. Yes, kori gassi tastes amazing with rotti or idlies

      Reply

  56. Marilyn says

    Made this yesterday for friends and it turned out a hit. Very flavourful and delicious. Thank you, Shireen.

    Reply