Thoran is a Malayalam word used for stir-fries which have grated coconut added to it. Thoran is a very common preparation in Kerala and you will find it as a side dish with rice every time. This is usually prepared with different vegetables, but people do make similar versions with non-veg ingredients too.
This spicy chicken thoran uses roasted grated coconut along with spices, unlike it’s vegetarian counterparts. So this dish makes for a great starter as well as a side with rice, rotis and porottas (yeah, the layered lachcha parathas that Kerala is famous for..;))
The process for making this dish is pretty straight forward, so don’t be taken aback by the number of ingredients listed. A lot of it are the whole and dry spices which you will have in your pantry. So do give this a try!
Spicy Chicken Thoran
Course: Starter, MainCuisine: Indian, KeralaDifficulty: Moderate4
servings10
minutes30
minutes40
minutesAn easy to make spicy chicken stir fry recipe using roasted grated coconut!
Ingredients
Boneless Chicken – 250 gms, cut into cubes
Salt – as per taste
- For roasting coconut
Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
Grated coconut – ½ cup
Curry Leaves – a few
Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1 tsp
Garam Masala Powder – ½ tsp
Salt – as per taste
- For the thoran
Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon – ½ inch stick
Cardamom – 1
Cloves – 2
Star Anise – 1
Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
Onion – 1 medium, sliced thin
Garlic – 5-6 cloves, sliced thin
Ginger – ½ nch piece, sliced thin
Green Chilli – 2, split into two
Curry Leaves – a few
Pepper Powder – ½ tsp
Chilli Powder – ½ tsp
Coriander Powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp
Directions
- Boil the chicken along with the salt and a little water till the chicken is cooked through. Once cooked, shred the chicken into smaller pieces using a fork.
- In a pan or kadai, add the coconut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the grated coconut, curry leaves, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt.
- Keep stirring continuously and fry till its fragrant and a golden brown color.
- Remove this onto a plate and let it cool down.
- In the same pan or kadai, add the coconut oil for preparing the final dish.
- Once the oil is hot, add the whole spices to this – cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and star anise – and fry them till it changes color.
- To this add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
- Next, add the onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves to this and let it fry till the onions change color.
- To this, add the pepper powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder and fry till fragrant.
- Next, add the shredded chicken to this and mix well.
- Cook covered on low flame for a couple of minutes till the masalas coat the chicken well.
- Next, add the fried coconut and again mix well. Sprinkle a little water and cook it covered for another 5 min.
- The chicken thoran is ready. Take it off heat and serve hot. You can garnish it with some fried curry leaves if you like.
