Saraswat Chicken Curry

Name: Saraswat Chicken Curry
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Maharashtra)
Ingredients: 700 g chicken (bone-in curry cut); 3 tbsp coconut oil; 2 medium onions (200 g), finely sliced; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 5 kokum petals, soaked in 60 ml warm water; 1 tsp salt; 200 ml water; 1 cup (90 g) fresh grated coconut; 5 Kashmiri red chillies, soaked; 2 Bedgi chillies, soaked; 1 tbsp coriander seeds, dry-roasted; ½ tsp cumin seeds; 4 black peppercorns; 2 cloves; 1 green cardamom; ½ tsp turmeric; 4 garlic cloves; 1 × 1 cm ginger; No tomato in Saraswat curry — the sourness comes only from kokum; adding tomato changes the entire character; The curry should be medium-thick, not thin or dry — it is meant to be poured over rice; Fresh coconut masala makes the gravy silky and rich in a way that dried coconut cannot replicate

🍗 Non-veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Medium

The chicken curry of the Saraswat Brahmin community of the Konkan coast — cooked in coconut oil with freshly ground coconut masala, kokum souring, and without tomato. Lighter in colour than Kolhapuri, refined in spicing, and uniquely fragrant from the coastal masala.

⏱️25 minPrep

🔥40 minCook

🕒65 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 How to make Saraswat Chicken Curry

Grind masala (No heat): Blend all masala ingredients with minimum water into a very smooth, thick paste. The more thoroughly ground, the creamier the curry.
Fry onion (Heat: medium): Heat coconut oil. Fry sliced onion on medium heat for 10 minutes until golden — do not brown too dark (Saraswat curries are lighter in colour than Kolhapuri).
Add ginger-garlic and masala (Heat: medium): Add ginger-garlic paste — fry 2 minutes. Add ground coconut masala paste. Fry on medium for 6–7 minutes, stirring constantly, until paste changes from raw to cooked (the coconut aroma shifts from fresh to slightly toasty), and oil just begins to appear at the edges.
Add chicken (Heat: medium-high): Add chicken. Fry on medium-high for 6–8 minutes, turning pieces, until chicken is sealed and masala coats each piece.
Simmer with kokum (Heat: medium-low): Add strained kokum water and 200 ml plain water. Add salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low. Cover and cook 25–28 minutes until chicken is completely tender. Stir every 8 minutes.
Finish: Uncover last 5 minutes to reduce gravy. Taste — should be coconutty, mildly tangy from kokum, and gently spiced (not fiery). Drizzle coconut oil. Garnish with coriander.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 430 kcal | 38 g | 8 g | 27 g | 3 g | The Saraswat Brahmins of the Konkan coast (Chitpavan, Karhade, and Gaud Saraswat communities) have a rich tradition of non-vegetarian cooking within the Brahmin community — unusual in India, where Brahmin cooking is often assumed to be purely vegetarian. Their seafood and chicken preparations, using coconut oil and kokum without onion in religious contexts (though in daily cooking onion is used), represent a distinct and sophisticated culinary tradition. ---

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