Gongura Chicken

Gongura is widely used in Telugu cuisine along with chutney or relish.  while it has many culinary uses, the most popular is the pickled version.  Although Gongura is widely consumed all over Andhra Pradesh, Guntur Gongura is more popular in hotels, restaurants, eateries and food joints. In the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh it is known as Puntikura Or Kuntikura. It is also available in Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh (north east region of India) and also some parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts region in Bangladesh (which is mainly a tribal people region). It is a very popular green vegetable in Chakma community and it is known as "Aamelli". Gongura is a very rich source of Iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition.  Similarly, Gongura is popular in Tamil Nadu as well, and is called pulichakeerai in Tamil. The famous combination with pulichakeerai is Ragi Kali/Ragi Mudde, which once used to be a regular food for the people in villages (since these items are easily available in agricultural forms). In Marathi, it is called Ambaadi. It is known as Pitwaa in Hindi, Nalitaa Saaga in Oriya, Mestapat in Bengali, Amaari in Chhattisgarhi, Pandi/Pundi in Kannada, Anthur in Mizo, Sougri in Manipuri, Aamelli in Chakma, Sorrel Leaves in English, and Chin Baung in Chinese. It is a summer crop, and the hotter the place, the more sour the leaf gets.

Gongura comes in two varieties, green stemmed leaf and red stemmed. The red stemmed variety is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Gongura is popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura and also Mizoram.A baby gongura leaf is a full leaf. As the leaf grows older, the leaf splits into four or more parts.

Gongura Chicken

Ingredients

•  1 kg chicken, washed and drained
•  4 medium sized onions, finely chopped
•  few fresh curry leaves
•  4 tbsp oil
•  1 tsp fresh garam masala powder
•  salt to taste
•  1 cup curd
•  1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
•  1/4 tsp turmeric powder
•  1 tbsp red chilli powder
•  1/4 cup water
•  2 cups fresh red sorrel (gongura) leaves 
•  3 green chillies (adjust)
•  1 bunch fresh coriander leaves (optional)
•  1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves (optional)
•  4 cloves
•  1 1/2" cinnamon
•  3 cardamoms
•  3 tbsp coriander seeds

Method

• Marinade chicken pieces in curd, turmeric pwd, red chilli pwd and ginger garlic paste and keep aside for half an hour.
• Lightly dry roast the spices under 'garam masala powder' for 4 mnts and let them cool. Grind them to fine powder, keep aside.
• Boil the water, add fresh red sorrel (gongura) leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies and mint leaves. Cook them for 3 mts and let them cool. Grind them into a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add finely chopped onions, curry leaves and saute till light golden color on medium heat.
• Add marinade chicken, mix well, covered, cook on high heat for 5 mnts. Reduce heat and cook for another 20 mnts or till chicken more than half cooked.
• Now time to add sorrel (gongura) leaves paste and combine well. Place the lid and cook till chicken has turned soft and paste should mix well with chicken pieces.
• Finally add salt and fresh garam masala pwd, mix well, cook more 5 mts and turn off the heat.
• Serve hot with white rice or chapatis.