Kerala duck curry. Classic spicy curry featuring the robust flavors of spices and creamy coconut milk. It’s a game changer!
Speeding through a super busy life, spending more time in the kitchen and recreating timeless classics is such a treat these days. There’s a huge variety of traditional dishes here on the blog ranging from all-time favorite butter chicken to the popular aloo paratha.
Occasionally, I love the idea of using duck instead of chicken to cook up an impressive yet unexpected dinner for my family. Of course, there’s no limit to what you can create with delicious duck meat. But today, as I mentioned, I just want to stick to a traditional recipe with its origins from the authentic cuisine of Kerala.
To create this Kerala duck curry, I started with preparing the duck. Remove the skin and chop it down into medium-sized pieces. Then, make the base curry sauce to cook the duck pieces.
Don’t worry. It’s such a simple recipe, to be exact, it’s as easy as making a good chicken curry. The only difference is that duck requires longer cooking time.
To a hot pan, you’ll need to add a couple of tablespoons of oil, and stir fry garlic, ginger and green chilies. Brown some onions and curry leaves followed by the addition of dried spices like ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, red chili powder and chicken masala.
You might have noticed that I don’t usually use chicken masala in my dishes. But, duck needs a stronger flavor of spices, and chicken masala certainly adds the right touch. The deep layers of flavors is what makes this Kerala duck curry so special.
The key is to coat duck pieces really well in the masala, and fry for few minutes until the meat starts to absorb the flavors. Then, pour in water to cover the duck pieces, and wait until it’s cooked through. Again, as I mentioned, duck always need longer cooking time - about 45 minutes.
However, I do have a simple trick up my sleeve to drastically reduce the cooking time. Pressure cooker. You just need to transfer the curry to the cooker and wait for 4-5 whistles. Your favorite instant pot is yet another way to speed up the cooking process.
Once the duck pieces are cooked, stir in coconut milk and add a sprinkle of lightly crushed black pepper. At this stage, do not boil the curry. Just heat through.
This Kerala duck curry tastes best when served with palappam (Rice crepes), idiyappam (string hoppers), parathas and even rice.
More duck recipes:
Kerala Duck Curry | Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon oil coconut oil for authentic taste
- 6 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 inch fresh ginger crushed
- 4 green chilies slit
- 3 large onions sliced
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon ground coriander coriander powder
- 2 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon chicken masala
- 1 kg duck cut into medium-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon lightly crushed black pepper
- ½ cup thick coconut milk coconut cream
- Water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger and green chilies. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add onions and 1 sprig of curry leaves. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until onions are browned.
- Add ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala, red chili powder and chicken masala. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add duck. Stir to combine. Fry duck in the spice mixture for 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add water to cover duck pieces. Add 1 sprig of curry leaves. Season with salt. Cook, covered, for 45 minutes or until duck is cooked through.
- (Alternatively, cook duck in a pressure cooker. Transfer the curry to pressure cooker and cook for 4-5 whistles)
- Stir in thick coconut milk (or coconut cream). Add ground black pepper. Heat through.
Video
Nutrition
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Valentina says
Wow! This looks so comforting and tasty. The video is excellent! I'm inspired. 🙂
molly says
Woooww, This looks so spicy and tasty, I can't wait to try it, Thanks for sharing....
Isabell says
I am going to cook this for birthday on Saturday but am not sure what chicken masala is. Do you mean a paste that is bought in a jar or is it a powder that I can buy.
With thanks, Isabell.
Rose Mary George says
Chicken masala is basically a simple mixture of spices and is easily available from Indian grocery stores. Happy cooking!
Nick says
How long would "4-5 whistles" be on a timed pressure cooker? Mine needs a set timing so curious roughly how long this would be. Thanks!
Rose Mary George says
Hi Nick,
The cooking times may vary depending on the type of pressure cooker used. For an instant pot, you'll need to cook for about 35 minutes. 🙂
Adrian says
This recipe is perfect, and a great change up from chicken. I cooked it today and so impressed. Spicy, tasty, colour , filling. Recommend so much. I had Basmati rice , go with that if you want. Spot on .