Daab Chicken is a fun dish, in which I like how the chicken absorbs the sweet taste of the soft coconut, and the onions, chilies and roasted spices give it extra flavor. This recipe is inspired by my grandmother. She, however, cooked prawns inside a green coconut. However, in this recipe I have replaced prawns with soft, juicy, and boneless chicken to give it more of a hearty feel. It does take a bit more effort to make but I feel it is a unique and delicious dish to try!
The Basics:
- Daab Chicken is made with small and tender marinated chicken pieces cooked inside a green coconut.
- The dish is usually enjoyed with steamed rice but can be paired with roti or paratha as well.
- Daab Chicken, just as the name implies, offers a mild sweet and spicy coconut-infused taste.
- I take just over an hour to make this dish at home, with 15 minutes needed for preparation, 10 minutes for resting and 40 minutes for cooking.
- Other similar recipes like daab chicken are daab chingri, daab ilish, daab paneer, chingri malaikari, bhapa ilish and fish paturi.
The Ingredients:
- Boneless Chicken: 500 gm (properly washed, drained, and cut into small pieces)
- Green coconut: 1 piece (large, with enough space inside for the chicken)
- Onion: 1 piece (medium size, finely chopped)
- Tomato: 1 piece (medium size, thinly sliced)
- Green chilies (2 green-colored chilies and 3 red-colored chilies, finely chopped or slit)
- Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp
- Vinegar: 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Red chili powder: ½ tsp
- Coriander powder: ½ tsp
- Cumin powder: ½ tsp
- Kashmiri red chili: ½ tsp (for color)
- Garam masala powder: ½ tsp
- Homemade roasted spice: ½ tsp (made up by roasting and then grinding ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp coriander seeds, 2 small bay leaves, 1 piece green cardamom, 6 pieces of cloves and an 1-inch size cinnamon)
- Tightly kneaded wheat dough (for sealing, made up with approximately ½ cup of flour and water as needed)
- Aluminum foil: 1 piece (large enough to cover the coconut opening)
- Mustard oil: 4 tbsp (you can use refined oil)
- Salt: 1 tbsp
- Coconut water: 3 tbsp
- Sand: As much as required to make a stable, even layer in the cooking pan (not for eating)
How to Make Daab Chicken (Step by Step Images)?
1. Add the chopped onion, sliced tomatoes, salt, roasted spice mix, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar and mustard oil to boneless chicken cubes. Mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate.
2. Cut the green coconut at the top, large enough to put in the marinated chicken pieces. Pour out the coconut water into a bowl. You don’t need to take out the flesh. Instead, take a spoon, scrape it inside and make a slightly smooth paste.
3. Stuff the marinated chicken inside the coconut.
4. Add 3 tablespoons of coconut water. Do the necessary adjustments to make sure that the coconut water goes inside.
5. Spread the aluminum foil over the open mouth of the green coconut and then seal it with the wheat dough.
6. Pour sand in a pan. You can use salt instead of sand.
7. Put a stand on the sand.
8. Place the green coconut on the stand.
9. Cover it with a large pan. Steam it for 30 minutes on a high flame. Turn off the oven. Wait for a few minutes to let it cool.
(Pro Tip: Cooking time can vary with coconut size and chicken pieces. So, check that the thickest piece for doneness before turning the oven off.)
10. Remove the lid.
11. Take out the green coconut. Remove the dough and aluminum foil.
12. Take out the chicken stuffed inside green coconut and put it on a plate. Sprinkle the kernel over the dish. Your homemade daab chicken is ready.
Experiment with These Ideas
- Sometimes I use refined oil instead of mustard oil, which gives it a milder aroma.
- I also enjoy throwing in a bit of extra tomato so I can get that slight sour flavor.
- To make it smell more warming, I often include some whole cardamom and cinnamon.
- On one occasion, I threw in a teaspoon of thick coconut milk within the filling to give it a richer taste. This changed the texture of the recipe.
Daab Chicken Recipe Trouble-Busting Tips
Q: My Daab Chicken is not cooked properly. What is wrong?
A: The chicken pieces are likely to be large. I suggest you rely on checking the largest pieces for doneness in step 11 rather than on the cooking time. Cook it in a pan for some more time if needed.
Q: Why did my coconut crack while cooking?
A: The coconut shell may be damaged or have cracks in it. Before stuffing your coconut, always check that it does not have any cracks, or else the juices will run out in step 9.
Q: Can I use a mature coconut for this recipe?
A: It is not advisable, and I would surely not do it. An old coconut will have firm thick flesh which may alter the taste of the recipe, whereas tender young coconut will have softer kernels rendering a better flavor.
Recipe Card:
Daab Chicken (Chicken Stuffed in Coconut)
Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken: 500 gm properly washed, drained, and cut into small pieces
- Green coconut: 1 piece large, with enough space inside for the chicken
- Onion: 1 piece medium size, finely chopped
- Tomato: 1 piece medium size, thinly sliced
- Green chilies 2 green-colored chilies and 3 red-colored chilies, finely chopped or slit
- Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tbsp
- Vinegar: 1 tbsp
- Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
- Red chili powder: ½ tsp
- Coriander powder: ½ tsp
- Cumin powder: ½ tsp
- Kashmiri red chili: ½ tsp for color
- Garam masala powder: ½ tsp
- Homemade roasted spice: ½ tsp made up by roasting and then grinding ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp coriander seeds, 2 small bay leaves, 1 piece green cardamom, 6 pieces of cloves and an 1-inch size cinnamon
- Tightly kneaded wheat dough for sealing, made up with approximately ½ cup of flour and water as needed
- Aluminum foil: 1 piece large enough to cover the coconut opening
- Mustard oil: 4 tbsp you can use refined oil
- Salt: 1 tbsp
- Coconut water: 3 tbsp
- Sand: As much as required to make a stable even layer in the cooking pan (not for eating)
Instructions
- Add the chopped onion, sliced tomatoes, salt, roasted spice mix, ginger-garlic paste, vinegar and mustard oil to boneless chicken cubes. Mix well. Set aside for 10 minutes to marinate.
- Cut the green coconut at the top, large enough to put in the marinated chicken pieces. Pour out the coconut water into a bowl. You don’t need to take out the flesh. Instead, take a spoon, scrape it inside and make a slightly smooth paste.
- Stuff the marinated chicken inside the coconut.
- Add 3 tablespoons of coconut water. Do the necessary adjustments to make sure that the coconut water goes inside.
- Spread the aluminum foil over the open mouth of the green coconut and then seal it with the wheat dough.
- Pour sand into a pan. You can use salt instead of sand.
- Put a stand on the sand.
- Place the green coconut on the stand.
- Cover it with a large pan. Steam it for 30 minutes on a high flame. Turn off the oven. Wait for a few minutes to let it cool. (Pro Tip: Cooking time can vary with coconut size and chicken pieces. So, check that the thickest piece for doneness before turning the oven off.)
- Remove the lid.
- Take out the green coconut. Remove the dough and aluminum foil.
- Take out the chicken stuffed inside green coconut and put it on a plate. Sprinkle the kernel over the dish. Your homemade daab chicken is ready.
