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Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Kaadai kuzhambu

Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, India

Kaadai kuzhambu (Quail curry)

Chettinad quail curry: small birds in a peppery gravy of roasted spices, shallots and tomato.

Kaadai kuzhambu
Close to the base recipe Hot

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Kaadai kuzhambu. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Kaadai kuzhambu

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 4 Quails, cleaned and halved.

From the base recipe

  • 200 g Onions
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil
  • 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp · 300 ml Salt and water
  • 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
  • 3 · 3 · 3 cm Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Kaadai kuzhambu

  • 200 g Shallots (small onions)
  • 2 Tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp Roasted spice paste (pepper, fennel, cumin, coriander, coconut)
  • 2 sprigs Curry leaves

Leave out

  • Nothing: use it all.

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisUse shallots, peeled, and two green chillies.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisFry with whole spices and curry leaves. Add ginger garlic paste.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisUse the quails.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisAdd the tomatoes, then the quails.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisAdd chilli powder, turmeric and the roasted spice paste.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisAdd water.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Kaadai kuzhambu: do thisSimmer 20 minutes until the quail is tender.

Serve: With rice or dosa.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

← Lobster curryAll curries on the mapKerala duck curry →

Food marks, as on packaged food in India: vegetarian · non-vegetarian (meat, fish or egg). Dishes with both marks can be made either way.

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