Food: Chef Nishant Choubey brings to the table Kombdi Vade, a slow-cooked chicken curry built on simple spices and time-honoured technique

Konkan cooking has always been closely tied to the land and the sea. Meals were built around coconut, local spices, and slow methods that allowed flavours to develop naturally. Food wasn’t rushed, and recipes weren’t written down. You learnt them by standing in the kitchen, watching, tasting, and adjusting as you went.Kombdi Vade comes from this everyday way of cooking. It’s a country chicken curry that depends more on patience than complexity. The coconut is roasted slowly till it turns dark and fragrant — that single step gives the curry its depth. Spices are kept simple and ground fresh with ginger and garlic, forming a coarse masala that stays bold but balanced.The onions are browned properly before the chicken goes in, allowing the meat to seal and release its juices. Once the masala is added, the curry is left to cook gently, thickening on its own. As it simmers, the oil slowly rises to the surface, letting you know the masala has cooked through. A few kokum petals are added at the end, not to make it sour, but to cut through the richness and make the dish easier to eat in the coastal heat.Rice vade are made fresh, fried till crisp, and eaten hot alongside the curry. The meal is usually eaten by hand, dipped straight into the gravy. Kombdi Vade remains what it has always been — simple, robust, and comforting, the kind of food that fills you up and stays with you.Kombdi Vade, the Konkan chicken curryIngredientsFor the chicken curryCountry chicken (cut into medium pieces) 1 kgFresh grated coconut 1½ cupDried red chillies 8-10Coriander seeds 2 tbspCumin seeds 1 tspBlack peppercorns 6-8Cloves 4Cinnamon 1 small pieceGarlic cloves 10Ginger 2-inch pieceOnions (large, finely chopped) 2Turmeric powder 1 tspKokum petals 3-4Coconut or groundnut oil As neededSalt To tasteMethodStart by roasting the coconut on a low flame till it turns a deep golden brown — this step gives the curry its backbone.Keep it aside. Lightly roast the dried red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin, pepper, cloves and cinnamon just until fragrant.Grind the roasted spices along with the coconut, ginger and garlic into a thick, coarse masala.Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and sauté the onions till these are well browned. Add turmeric and the chicken pieces, stirring till the meat seals and releases its juices. Add the ground masala and enough water to form a medium-thick curry.Let it simmer gently on a low flame for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and oil begins to surface. Add kokum, cook for another five minutes, and adjust salt.Serve with rice vade or bhakri.— Author of 'Stay with Indus', Chef Nishant Choubey is Consulting Chef for Michelin Plated Indus (Bangkok) and Corporate Chef of Seinan Group (Tokyo). He also won Independent Chef of the Year Award for 2024

Food: Chef Nishant Choubey brings to the table Kombdi Vade, a slow-cooked chicken curry built on simple spices and time-honoured technique

Paired with rice vade, this chicken curry draws from Konkan’s land-and-sea culinary traditions

Chef Nishant Choubey

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