Cut the chicken into small/bite sized pieces. Wash well and drain it on a colander

Soak the tamarind in a little water for about 10 minutes and then extract the pulp.

Pre-cook the chicken by adding it to a pan. Add the cinnamon, cloves & salt to taste. Mix well & cook till the chicken is tender. Retain the stock and keep it aside.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the sliced onions and fry until they turn translucent. Do not brown them or they will begin to caramelise and taste sweet.

Add the grated coconut and fry on a low heat till the colour changes to a pale brown

Add the tomato paste and fry it along with the rest of the mixture. Reduce the heat to a low and add the bafat powder. Continue to fry on a low heat and then add half the tamarind extract. You can add the rest later if required.

Now add only the cooked chicken pieces without its stock. This will help us get a nice dry texture.

Add the stock in parts, a ladleful at a time and cook the chicken on a medium heat. This process will help the masala to properly absorb all the stock without making the dish too watery.

Taste the masala and add more salt, bafat powder or tamarind extract as required. If there is any stock remaining, add it now, cover the pan and and cook the chicken on a high heat for two minutes. This is to ensure that you are left with dryish yet juicy chicken sukka.

When the chicken is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, take the pan off the heat.

Serve hot with neer dosa (panpolay), rice or chapathis.