Pallipalayam is a town in TamilNadu, India where this recipe is said to have originated and hence the name, Pallipalayam Chicken. This chicken dish is a popular one and well-loved among the people in and around namakkal and erode region. These areas are all well-known for their kongunadu foods, a cuisine most unique to the kongu region. 

Kongunadu cuisine has its own traditional dishes one among which is the Arisiparuppu sadam which is believed to be originated  during the fourth century CE.

Coming back to pallipalayam chicken, this dish is made with simple balance of shallots, garlic and red chillies. The most important ingredient  is the addition of tiny pieces of coconut meat which gives this dish a unique flavor and the traditional kongunadu touch.

Being born and brought up in namakkal, one of the predominant kongu region of tamil nadu, i have grown up eating and watching my family making this dish all the time.

If you are following me on instagram, you will be knowing that iam following ketogenic lifestyle for quite a while now. If you are not, pls do follow me 👉@sathyasankar_

Iam planning to include more of keto friendly, Paleo and low carb recipes in the site from hereon.

Pallipalayam chicken is very quick to make and most importantly if you are looking for a low carb, Keto-friendly and paleo option, then this is the perfect dish.

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PALLIPALAYAM CHICKEN
By Sathya Sankar 
SERVES 2

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Ingredients 

• 1pound chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• 1 cup of onion, finely chopped(preferably shallots 
• 6 garlic pods, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5-6 dried red chillies, deseeded and broken into 1-inch pieces (found in the asian/indian market)
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup chopped coconut meat, preferably fresh (or frozen found in the freezer section of indian grocery) 
• salt, to taste 
• 2 cardamom pods (optional) 

Method 

• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. once the oil heats up add the cardamom pods and wait for few seconds.
• Add in the onion, garlic and red chillies. Saute in low flame for 2-3 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. 
• Add the chicken along with salt and turmeric powder. Mix well for a minute. close the lid, put the flame to low and let the chicken cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring in between. 
• Once the chicken is 90% cooked and all the water has evaporated, add the coconut meat and give it a mix. let it sit for 2 minutes and switch of the flame.
• Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Notes 

• The red chillies are quite spicy, so deseeding them will reduce the spice level.
• I highly recommend adding fresh coconut meat to the dish.

• 1/2 kilograms Idly rice/ parboiled rice/ Puzhungal arisi
• 1/4 kilograms fried gram dal flour/pottukadalai flour, sifted
• 7-10 red chillies
• 7-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoon ajwain/omam/jeera
• salt, to taste
• oil for deep frying

• Wash and soak the rice for 4 hours. In a separate bowl, soak the redchillies.
• Using a wet grinder/ mixer grinder grind the rice along with red chillies and garlic, adding a little water to a very smooth batter. The batter should have the consistency like idly batter and not too watery.
• Now add the sifted fried gram dal flour, ajwain, sesame seeds, salt and mix well to form a smooth dough.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, the oil should be medium hot to fry the murukkus.
• Grease a murukku press with desired plate and fill it with the dough.
• Press the dough on to a greased plate or to the back of a flat laddle ( i used 4 idiyappam plates ) and drop the it into the hot oil.
• Fry the murukkus until they are golden and completely cooked.Drain them on to a paper towel.
• Repeat the same process until you have fried all the murukkus.
• Store them in an air tight container and enjoy.

• I have given the measurement for rice and fried gram dal flour in kg, it normally the ratio of 2:1. But if you measure the rice in cups, then the volume of fried gram dal flour in cups will be less than the mentioned amount. So keep that in mind when weighing the ingredients.

• If you find the murukkus are a little on the crunchy side, add a pinch of baking soda to the dough and mix well. This will make the murukkus crispy.

Sweet diamond cuts are one of the popular sweet made during diwali.

 Other than  the process of the rolling the dough and cutting them into small diamonds[which is quite time consuming if you make in large batches], the process of making these is very simple.

• 2 cups All-purpose flour/Maida
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten [optional]
• water, as needed to form the dough
• I cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Oil, for deep frying

• Adding egg to the recipe makes the diamonds a little crispier , but it is totally optional.
• Instead of adding the sugar syrup, powdered sugar can also be added to the fried diamonds.Keep in mind the diamonds should be warm for the powdered sugar to stick to it.
• Oil should always be medium hot for frying the diamonds.