Malenadu Koli Saaru

What is Malenadu koli saaru?

Malenadu koli saaru is a chicken curry with a thin to medium gravy, made with a ground paste of roasted coconut and whole spices. “Koli” means chicken in Kannada and “saaru” is any thin curry or rasam that you pour over rice. So koli saaru simply means chicken curry. Each region of Karnataka makes its own. Malenadu koli saaru is the version of the hills.

What sets Malenadu koli saaru apart is the masala. Grated coconut is roasted in a dry pan until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, then ground with coriander seeds, black pepper, cumin, poppy seeds and dry red chillies. The result is a brown, fragrant gravy that is spicy without being oily.

In hill homes Malenadu koli saaru is not daily food. It is cooked on Sundays, when guests come, during festivals in families that eat meat and on cold monsoon days. It is usually eaten with akki rotti, kadubu or rice.

Is koli saaru a curry or a rasam?

It sits in between. Malenadu koli saaru is thinner than a North Indian chicken curry, so it soaks into rice and rotti, but thicker than a vegetarian saaru like kokum saaru. The ground coconut gives it body.

How is Malenadu chicken curry different from other Karnataka chicken curries?

Malenadu chicken curry is defined by roasted coconut and plenty of black pepper, while curries of the plains and coast lean on other flavours. Karnataka has many chicken curries. Knowing the neighbours helps you see what makes Malenadu koli saaru special.

Curry	Region	Main flavour
Malenadu koli saaru	Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan hills	roasted coconut, pepper, coriander seeds
Nati koli saaru	Old Mysore and across the state	country chicken, coconut with poppy seeds and greens
Kodava koli curry	Kodagu	ground Kodava spices, coconut, tamarind
Kundapura koli saaru	Udupi coast	red chillies, coriander seeds, coconut, tamarind

Karnataka Tourism describes the Kodava chicken curry of Coorg as chicken simmered with freshly ground spices, coconut, tamarind and curry leaves and served with rice or ragi mudde. On the coast, it describes Kundapura koli saaru as a coconut curry with red chillies, coriander seeds and tamarind.

The Malenadu style chicken curry sits between these two. Malenadu koli saaru takes coconut from the coast and pepper from the estates of the Ghats. You can see which taluks count as Malenadu on our page of Malenadu districts and taluks.

Why nati koli saaru tastes different

Nati koli saaru tastes richer because it is made with nati koli, the native country chicken raised free range around village homes. The meat is firmer and darker, with more flavour than broiler chicken. It needs longer cooking, but the gravy it makes is deeper.

In Malenadu villages, many homes keep a few country hens that roam the thota and the backyard. When guests come, one of them goes into the pot. That is why a Malenadu koli saaru made with nati koli is still the dish people ask for when they visit relatives in the hills. Read more about the region on our Malenadu in Karnataka page.

Country chicken has less fat and tougher muscle. Cook it in a pressure cooker or simmer it for a long time with the lid on. Broiler chicken cooks in about 20 minutes and works fine in the same recipe, but the gravy is lighter.

The roasted coconut and pepper masala

The masala for Malenadu koli saaru is made by dry roasting coconut and whole spices separately, then grinding them to a smooth paste. Roasting each ingredient on its own lets you take it off the heat at the right moment, so nothing burns.

Ingredient	What it does
Grated coconut, roasted golden	body, colour and a nutty sweetness
Coriander seeds	the base flavour of the gravy
Black pepper	the main heat and aroma
Dry red chillies	colour and a second layer of heat
Cumin, poppy seeds (gasagase)	thickness and a mellow taste
Cloves and cinnamon	a little warmth, used lightly
Onion, garlic and ginger	sweetness and depth

Chicken saaru with pepper: why it matters

Chicken saaru with pepper is the Malenadu answer to a cold, wet evening. In the hills, black pepper vines climb the shade trees in coffee and areca gardens, so pepper is used by the spoon, not the pinch. ICAR-IISR, the national spices research centre, notes that black pepper is native to the Western Ghats and that Kerala and Karnataka are its major producing states.

For Malenadu koli saaru, use whole pepper and roast it lightly with the coriander seeds. Freshly roasted and ground, it gives the gravy a warm heat that builds slowly. Pre-ground pepper loses its smell quickly and makes the curry taste flat.

Read how pepper is grown and picked on our page on pepper and cardamom farming.

Koli saaru recipe: how to make Malenadu koli saaru at home

This koli saaru recipe serves five to six people with rotti or rice and works for country or broiler chicken. Most of the time goes into roasting the masala and cooking the chicken. Read it through once before you start, because the masala is roasted in stages.

When it is ready, Malenadu koli saaru should be a rich brown, pour easily off a spoon and smell of pepper and roasted coconut. If it is too thick, add hot water. If it is too thin, simmer a few more minutes without the lid.

Malenadu style chicken: variations to try

Malenadu style chicken changes from house to house, but almost every version keeps the coconut and the pepper. These four are the ones you are most likely to meet in the hills.

Green koli saaru

Some homes grind fresh coriander leaves, mint and green chillies into the coconut paste and leave out most of the red chillies. The gravy turns green, fresher and lighter. Use 1 cup coriander leaves, 1/4 cup mint and 4 to 5 green chillies in place of 6 dry red chillies.

With kokum instead of tamarind

In Uttara Kannada and the ghat taluks above the coast, many cooks sour curries with kokum rind (murugalu) instead of tamarind. Soak 3 or 4 pieces in warm water for 15 minutes and add the red water in step 8. The sourness is cleaner and the gravy takes a reddish tint.

Pepper chicken dry (koli pepper fry)

Use the same chicken and fry it with a coarse paste of pepper, garlic, curry leaves and a little coconut until dry. It is a side dish rather than a saaru and goes well with rice and a thin rasam.

A note on Kodagu

Kodagu, at the southern end of the hills, has its own Kodava chicken curry, cooked with ground spices, coconut and tamarind and often served with rice or akki otti. It is a separate tradition with its own spice mix, so it is best learnt from Kodava cooks rather than copied into this recipe.

What to serve with Malenadu koli saaru

Malenadu koli saaru is best with soft rice flatbreads, steamed rice dumplings or plain rice. The gravy is made to be soaked up, so choose something that drinks it in.

• Akki rotti. Thin, soft Malenadu akki rotti or rolled ubbu rotti is the classic pairing. Tear the rotti and dip it in the gravy.
• Kadubu. Plain rice kadubu or kara kadubu soaks up the gravy well.
• Rice. Hot rice with a spoon of the gravy and a piece of chicken, followed by curd rice.
• Ragi mudde. In Hassan and the plains side of the hills, ragi balls are common with nati koli saaru.
• Neer dose. The thin rice crepes of the coast are another good partner.

Add a sliced onion with lemon and a green chilli on the side. Many homes finish the meal with buttermilk or a plain rasam to cool the palate after the pepper.

Common Malenadu koli saaru mistakes and how to fix them

Most Malenadu koli saaru problems come from burnt coconut, raw masala or undercooked country chicken. This table shows what went wrong and how to fix it.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Bitter gravy	coconut or spices roasted too dark	roast on medium, take off at golden brown
Raw, powdery taste	masala not simmered enough	simmer 10 to 12 minutes after adding paste
Tough chicken	country chicken undercooked	pressure cook longer before adding masala
Grainy gravy	paste not ground fine	grind with water until fully smooth
Too sour	too much tamarind or kokum	add a little water and coconut paste
Flat taste	pre-ground pepper	roast and grind whole pepper fresh

Salt the chicken before cooking so the meat in your Malenadu koli saaru is seasoned through, not just the gravy. Do not add the coconut masala too early with country chicken, because the coconut catches at the bottom during long cooking.

Where to go next after Malenadu koli saaru

If you enjoyed Malenadu koli saaru, make a batch of akki rotti or kadubu to go with it next time. Our Malenadu food guide brings all the hill recipes together. For whole spices, turmeric and chillies for your masala, see the spices section of our shop, including our turmeric powder.

Frequently asked questions about Malenadu koli saaru