East Indian Chicken Khuddi

Khuddi is classic East Indian comfort food, traditionally built around bottle masala, the wonderfully complex spice blend that varies from family to family and is guarded accordingly. This version stays close to that structure, with a roasted onion-coconut masala forming the base, but uses coconut vinegar for acidity and adds green peas towards the end.

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 kg bone-in chicken, cut into medium curry pieces

• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

• ¾ cup green peas

• Salt, to taste

• 1½ cups water, plus more if required

• 3 tbsp coconut vinegar, or to taste

For the Roasted Masala

• 3 large onions, roughly sliced

• ¾ cup fresh coconut, scraped

• 5–6 dried Byadgi chillies

• 12 garlic cloves

• 1-inch piece ginger

• 3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

• A little water, for grinding

For Cooking

• 2 tbsp East Indian bottle masala

• 3 tbsp ghee

Method

Make the Roasted Masala
Place the sliced onions, dried Byadgi chillies and scraped coconut in a dry pan.
Roast over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and the mixture takes on a pale pink to lightly roasted colour. Don't take the onions to a deep brown.
Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
Transfer to a blender with the garlic, ginger and coriander leaves. Add just enough water to help the blades move and grind everything into a coarse paste.

Bhuno the Masala
Heat the ghee in a heavy-bottomed pot or kadhai.
Add the ground masala and cook over medium heat for 5–8 minutes, stirring frequently, until it loses its raw aroma and the ghee begins separating around the edges.
Add the bottle masala and mix thoroughly.
Cook for another 30–60 seconds. Bottle masala contains plenty of spices already, so there is no need to fry the living daylights out of it.

Add the Chicken
Add the chicken pieces and season with salt.
Mix thoroughly, making sure every piece gets well coated in the masala.
Cook over medium-high heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the outside of the chicken loses its raw appearance.

Simmer
Add 1½ cups of hot water and bring everything to a boil.
Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and cook.
After about 10 minutes, add the potato chunks and mix gently.
Continue cooking until the potatoes are almost tender and the chicken is cooked through. Add a splash of hot water if the curry becomes too dry.

Add the Peas
Add ¾ cup green peas during the final 15 minutes of cooking.
Cover and continue simmering until the peas are tender, the potatoes are completely cooked and the chicken pulls easily from the bone.

Finish with Coconut Vinegar
Once everything is cooked, add 3 tbsp coconut vinegar.
Stir and simmer uncovered for another 3–4 minutes.
Taste before adding any more. You want a noticeable tang running through the rich bottle masala gravy, but not enough vinegar to dominate it.
Check the salt and adjust if required.
Switch off the heat and let the Khuddi rest, covered, for 15–20 minutes before serving.

Serve
Serve warm with fugiya, fresh bakery pao or Goan red rice.
The gravy should be robust and moderately thick rather than completely dry, with the bottle masala doing most of the aromatic heavy lifting, coconut providing body and the coconut vinegar cutting neatly through all that richness.