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Pidiyum kozhiyum
Rice dumplings with chicken curry
പിടിയും കോഴിയും: little rice-flour dumplings in creamy coconut milk served with a spicy Kerala chicken curry, for Christmas and Easter
Central Kerala's Syrian Christian families, from Kottayam to Thrissur, make this for Christmas and Easter mornings and for the gatherings that follow a wedding. The pidi are marble-sized balls of roasted rice flour and coconut, poached in water and then simmered in thick coconut milk with garlic, cumin and shallots until they sit in a creamy, gently savoury sauce. Alongside goes a fiery kozhi curry (chicken curry) of bone-in chicken in a coconut-oil masala of onion, ginger, chilli and fennel-scented garam masala, cooked until the chicken reaches 74 °C at the thickest part. Each plate gets a ladle of soft, mild pidi and a ladle of red curry, and the two run together. It takes a little time, so families often roll the pidi together while the curry simmers. Common mistake: mixing the rice flour with cold or lukewarm water; the dough cracks and the pidi fall apart in the pot. Chef's tip: use boiling water and knead while it is still hot, wrapped in a cloth.
- Total time
- 110 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 5
Ingredients
For the kozhi curry
- 1 ¾ lb chicken on the boneskinned, cut into curry pieces
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 1 ½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 3 green chilliesslit
- 15 curry leaves
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 ½ tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tomatochopped
- 1 ¾ cups thin coconut milk
- 1 ½ tsp salt
For the pidi (rice dumplings)
- 9 oz roasted rice flour
- 1 ¾ oz freshly grated coconut
- ¾ tsp saltdivided
- 1 ¼ cups boiling waterabout
- 1 litre water
- 4 garlic clovescrushed
- 4 shallotscrushed
- ½ tsp cumin seedscrushed
- 1 ¾ cups thick coconut milk
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat and fry 2 onions for 10 minutes until golden. Add 1 ½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 3 green chillies and 15 curry leaves and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
12 minStep 2: Lower the heat and stir in ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 ½ tbsp ground coriander and 1 tsp garam masala with a splash of water. Cook for 2 minutes until the oil separates, then add 1 tomato and cook for 4 minutes until soft.
6 minStep 3: Add 1 ¾ lb chicken on the bone and 1 ½ tsp salt and turn the pieces in the masala over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Pour in 1 ¾ cups thin coconut milk, cover and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chicken is tender and reads 165°F at the thickest part, and the gravy has thickened. Wash your hands and board after handling raw chicken.
35 minStep 4: Meanwhile, mix 9 oz roasted rice flour, 1 ¾ oz freshly grated coconut and half the ⅜ tsp salt in a bowl. Pour in 1 ¼ cups boiling water gradually, stirring with a spoon, until it comes together. When cool enough to touch, knead for 2 minutes into a smooth, soft dough that doesn't crack.
5 minStep 5: With lightly oiled hands, roll the dough into balls the size of a large marble (about 2 cm). You should get about 60. Keep them covered with a damp cloth.
20 minStep 6: Bring 1 litre water to the boil with the rest of the ⅜ tsp salt in a wide pan. Drop in the pidi and leave them, without stirring, for 3–4 minutes until they float, then simmer for 8–10 minutes more, stirring gently, until they are cooked through with no raw centre and the water has turned thick and milky.
14 minStep 7: Add 4 garlic cloves, 4 shallots and ½ tsp cumin seeds and simmer for 3 minutes. Most of the water should have been absorbed into a thick starch; pour off any excess so only a few ladlefuls remain.
3 minStep 8: Pour in 1 ¾ cups thick coconut milk and heat gently for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until creamy and just steaming. Don't let it boil hard or the coconut milk will split.
4 minStep 9: Serve a ladle of pidi in coconut milk with a ladle of kozhi curry beside it in each bowl.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 650 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pidiyum kozhiyum take?
- About 110 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 5 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of curry leaves?
- Leave them out, or add a strip of lime zest (there's no true substitute).
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