Chicken Salna Recipe How To Make Chicken Salna For Biryani

Chicken Salna

Salna is my childhood nostalgic favorite recipe. I remember appa buying parotta and salna for use when we were younger and the taste has just stuck in my tastebuds forever. Now I make different types of salna to go with different dishes like this parotta salna and nattu kozhi salna. This version of salna is close to the thattukadai recipe which goes well with pretty much anything, specially biryani and parotta. It taste simply delicious.

About Chicken Salna

Chicken salna is a popular gravy dish usually served with parotta, appam, idiyappam and biryani. It is made just like normal chicken curry but it has a special roasted coconut & whole spice mixture added for flavour and taste. You can make salna with egg, mutton, empty, soya chunks or even vegetables. Make sure you refer my veg salna and thattukadai style veg salna. The gravy has a wonderful aroma of the whole spices which just makes my mouth water whenever I think of it. In this recipe of chicken salna, I have shared a simple version of chicken salna recipe which is close to the street food stall version. Also I have included an Instant pot version of chicken salna which will be helpful to many of you.

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Watch Chicken Salna Video

Chicken Salna Ingredients

Chicken - For making salna like thattukadai style, you have to use bone-in chicken. bone-in chicken adds so much flavour and taste to the curry. Onions & Tomatoes - like all curry onions and tomatoes form the base of the chicken salna. You can use chopped shallots instead of onions too. Ginger & Garlic - lots of ginger and garlic paste is used to provide the authentic aroma. Spice powders - I used a combo of chilli, coriander, cumin and turmeric. Additionally you can use pepper powder, garam masala powder and some fennel seed powder for added aroma. Coconut Masala - Chicken salna get its unique taste and aroma from the special roasted coconut masala. Coconuts, whole spices like fennel, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves is roasted and ground. This paste is added in the salna for special taste. Coriander Leaves & Curry Leaves - don’t skip these for added taste. Oil - I prefer to use coconut oil, in my opinion it adds best taste.

How to Make Chicken Salna (Stepwise Pictures)

Roasted Coconut & Spices

1)Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a pan. Add in whole spices. These whole spices adds so much aroma to the chicken salna. Once spices are added in the oil, toast it on low medium heat for 1 minute till it is well roasted. 2)Add in grated coconut. You can use either fresh coconut or dried desiccated coconut. 3)Add in poppy seeds. Instead of poppy seeds, you can use roasted gram dal or cashews. 4)Roast the coconut and spices on low heat for 4 to 5 minutes till it is lightly roasted. 5)Now the coconut is well roasted. This is the colour you are looking for.

Grinding Coconut Paste

6)Take the roasted coconut in a blender. Add some water and grind it to a smooth paste. 7)Coconut paste is ready. Set this aside, we will be using it in the end.

Making Masala Base

8)I made this in a pressure cooker. You can cook this in a regular cooking pot which will take extra time. You can also make this in an instant pot which I have shared below. Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker. Add in sliced onions and green chillies. 10)Saute this for 3 to 4 minutes till the onions turn slighly golden. 11)Add in ginger garlic paste. Saute the ginger garlic paste for at least 2 minutes till it is aromatic and raw smell leaves. 12)Add in chopped tomatoes. 13)Cook the tomatoes in the oil for 4 to 5 minutes till it softens up and gets mushy. 14)add salt to taste. 15)Add in spice powders. I am using chilli powder and coriander powder. 16)I added some cumin powder and turmeric powder. You can add pepper powder, garam masala powder and some fennel seed powder for added aroma. 17)Once the spices are added in. Stir fry it for 2 minutes. This is your masala base.

Cooking Chicken

18)Now add in chicken. I am using chicken with bone-in. Bone-in chicken adds flavour and taste to salna. 19)Stir fry the chicken for 5 minutes so the masala coats the chicken really well. 20)Pour enough water to cover the chicken. Close the pressure cooker lid, pressure cook for 2 whistle. Reduce the flame and cook on low for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure release by itself. Pro Tip: if you are using country chicken. You have to pressure cook for at least 5 to 6 whistle. 21)Now the chicken is cooked. You can open the cooker and add more water if needed.

Mixing in Coconut paste

22)Add the coconut masala into the cooked chicken. Mix well and cook on low medium heat for 10 minutes. 23)Cook chicken salna on low till you see a layer of oil floating on top. 24)Add in coriander leaves and mix well. 25)Serve.

Instant Pot Chicken Salna Recipe

Chicken salna which is made in instant pot. It take just few minutes to put together but it taste so amazing. The recipe remains the same except the cooking method. If you own an instant pot then you can make this easy and effectively.

How to Make Chicken Salna in an Instant Pot

1)Set the Instant Pot to Saute Mode. Roast the ingredients given till toasted and lightly golden. Grind to a smooth paste. Set this aside. In the same instant pot which is on saute mode. Heat oil and add in onions, curry leaves and let them saute well. Add in ginger garlic paste and saute for a min. Once ginger garlic paste is cooked, add in tomatoes and cook till mushy. 2)Sprinkle in spice powders, salt and mix well. Add in chicken and mix well. Stir fry the chicken for 5 minutes. 3) Pour water in the chicken and mix well. 4)Now add in the ground coconut and mix well. 5)Cover with instant pot lid. Change the mode to pressure cook and set pressure to 12 mins. Now let the pressure release by itself. 6)Now the chicken is cooked. Open the instant pot and serve.

Expert Tips

You can either use regular chicken or country chicken. If using country chicken, the cooking time will vary. You need to cook for around 5 to 6 whistle in the pressure cooker. You can always adjust the spice level to your taste. Add more or less chilli powder. Chicken salna can be made as thin or thick depending on your taste. It is best to use chicken with bone-in for maximum flavour and taste.

Serving & Storage

Salna is a popular South Indian street food style gravy dish usually served with parotta, biryani, appam & idiyappam. You can store leftover chicken salna in fridge for upto 3 to 4 days. Reheat in microwave or stove top till hot and bubbly and serve.