Chicken Ghee Roast | Kundapur Chicken Ghee Roast

The Chicken Ghee Roast appears fiery red but the heat has a smoky sweetness to it, mixed with the flavour of ghee. It isn’t your everyday dish as it comes loaded with ghee. Do not even attempt to make it an everyday dish by skimping on the ghee or substituting it. It won’t taste the same. I have enjoyed this dish right from my school days and the love affair still continues. For me this is a dish that can light up a gloomy day and put a smile on people’s faces.

We enjoy so many fantastic dishes courtesy of the culinary heritage our ancestors have left behind for us but, the names and stories of these creators have been lost in time. I have always wondered who conjured up these dishes and the same goes for this simple yet oh so tasty dish. But, never realized that the answer to this was always around me during my school days.

This is my attempt in bringing to you a piece of history hidden in every bite of a dish that we enjoy to the core. If you my dear reader, know of the history and the makers of some of the iconic dishes featured here on One Plate Please, I would like to hear from you and bring these stories out to the world to give these culinary geniuses the credit they deserve.

Backstory

So coming back to the Chicken Ghee Roast, there was this cheerful guy named Nakul Shetty in school. Always a smile on his face and, would put a smile on others faces just like the chicken ghee roast would put a smile on my face. No wonder their stories are connected! I got to know him better during the karate classes in high school. Even when exchanging punches he would have that smile on; just like the ghee roast packs a spicy sweet punch.

Knew him all these years but it was only until few years back I figured out his connection with this incredible dish. So read on, to know the story of the makers of this incredible dish. This is my way of paying tribute to them.

Origin of the Chicken Ghee Roast

It is known around Mangalore, that the Chicken Ghee roast originated in the kitchen of “Shetty Lunch Home” in Kundapura. Shetty Lunch Home was started in 1957 by Nakul’s paternal grandparents, Tejappa and Prabavati Shetty. Later in 1972, Anupam restaurant was started in Mangalore. The Chicken Ghee Roast was a result of one of the many kitchen experiments that they did. Apart from the ghee roast, they were known for their fish delicacies, particularly Kane rava fry and masala fry.

This family’s sojourn with the restaurant business traces its roots back to 1920. Nakul’s great-grandfather Subbaiyya Shetty started a hotel named “Buntara Ootada Mane”, the english translation of which is “Shetty Lunch Home”. He was a humble guy running some general shops. The hotel was basically a place for simple meals.

The children of Tejappa and Prabavati ran the different outlets. Nakul’s dad Mohandas Shetty quit his bank job in the ’80s and managed Anupam after his second brother Chandra passed away. Uncle Ravindranath Shetty managed Coast-to-Coast and aunt Hemalatha Rai took the reins of Shetty Lunch Home. Both Mohandas Shetty and Ravindranath shetty have passed away and Hemalatha rai has retired, and the baton has been passed on to the next generation.

Present day

Now, Nakul’s mom Shakuntala Shetty and brother Bharath Shetty run Anupam in Udupi. While sister Uma and her husband Harish Shetty run Anupam and Shetty Lunch home in Mangalore and another outlet in Adyar. The children of Ravindranth Shetty run Coast-to-Coast. Shetty Lunch Home in Kundapur is being managed by a few relatives.

Want to know an incredible fact about this family? The women have looked after the business as much as the men. They haven’t had a housewife in four generations!

This is a family with a tasty history and incredible values and I thank them for bringing us this incredible dish. Are you wondering, why Nakul’s name didn’t feature among the next-gen names I mentioned? It’s because he charted his own career path and teaches at MIT, Manipal. Naks! Thanks a ton buddy, to you and your family.

Making of the Chicken Ghee Roast

Coming to the dish, it has two elements to it viz. the Ghee and the Chilli based spice paste. Not just any dried red chillies but the Byadgi chillies. First the chicken is marinated in yoghurt and turmeric with a little lime juice and fried in ghee till it is almost done. Then the spice paste is slow roasted in ghee till it turns aromatic and darkens in colour. This happens due to the carmelization of the sugars contained in the chillies. It is a very simple recipe. This is a perfect party dish and is enjoyed best alongside rice and any mangalorean curry and also teams up excellently with Paan-poley/ Neer dosa.

Byadgi or Kumti?

Coming to the Byadgi Chillies, are they the same as the Kumti chillies or different. The answer maybe both Yes and No. The Byadgi is from the Byadgi region of Karnataka and Kumti is from the Kumta region of Karnataka. Both regions are just 150 km apart and there is every chance both could actually be the same. Both do taste similar, are rich in colour and pack a bit of heat with a smoky sweetness to it and both are wrinkly and long, tapering at the ends.

However, it is said there used to be one visual difference. The Kumti used to be a bit wider at the stem. However, present day both appear the same, and hence maybe it is safe to say both are same? Another interesting fact I came across is that the Konkani speaking people of this region relate more to Kumta as it is along the coastline and hence refer to the chilli as Kumti while the rest refer to it as Byadgi.

I had picked up a pack of Kumti during my last trip to India and that’s what I have used in this recipe. Or is it Byadgi? Try out the recipe and leave your feedback for this recipe and a bit of love to the original creators of the Chicken Ghee Roast. This is my tribute to them.

Chicken Ghee Roast

Jason Alfred Castelino @ www.oneplateplease.com

One of the crown jewels of Mangalorean cuisine! Juicy chicken pieces cooked in a aromatic chilli paste flavoured with ghee

5 from 7 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Marination Time (min.) 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine Indian, Mangalorean

Servings 5 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 kg Chicken (on the bone), cut to medium large pieces
• ¾ cup Ghee, divided
• Ghee-roast masala (recipe link in the instructions below)
• 1 tbsp Brown sugar / Jaggery (powdered)

for the marinade

• ½ cup Yoghurt
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp Lime juice
• Salt, as acquired

Instructions

 

Marination:

• Marinate the chicken with the ingredients mentioned under “for the marinade” and refrigerate preferably overnight or at least 3 hours. Take it out from fridge before you start the masala prep

Preparing the ghee-roast masala:

• Prepare the masala as mentioned in this link

Making the ghee-roast chicken:

• Heat ½ cup ghee in a thick bottomed pan and fry the chicken pieces along with the excess marinade liquid on an open flame until the chicken is almost 80% done and fried on all sides. Take out the pieces onto a plate
• Add the masala paste to the same pan and fry it in the leftover ghee-marinade gravy until the raw smell vanishes.
• Top up with the masala water from the mixer (as reqd.) and cook the masala until the water evaporates and the gravy thickens and darkens in colour. Keep stirring regularly to avoid scorching the masala
• Add the fried chicken pieces and carefully turn them around in the pan so that all the pieces are well coated with the masala. Cook on medium flame until the chicken is done. Add more of the masala water if required (gravy needs to be thick and dry and not watery)
• Check the salt and top up if needed. Add the remaining ¼ cup of ghee and mix well.
• Add the sugar/jaggery and mix. Mix well. Turn off the flame.
• Serve hot!

Notes

• Do play with the proportions of the ingredients to suit your taste buds. However, avoid reducing the amount of ghee as it is paramount to nailing the taste of this dish. You can of-course increase it as it will further enhance the flavour of the dish
• This dish is best enjoyed as a side dish with Paan-poley (neer dosa) or Rice or even as an appetiser

Keyword chicken, chicken ghee roast, ghee roast

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Do browse through my Ghee-Roast archive

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The Squid Version of the ever-popular Mangalorean Ghee-Roast

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Prawn Ghee Roast

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Mushroom Ghee Roast

Mushrooms sauteed in the Mangalorean Ghee-Roast masala

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