Kerala Style Kada Roast/Easy Quail Roast

Kada/ Quail Roast

Kada /Quail is a small-sized bird, and its meat is delicious and succulent. Quail meat roasted with earthy spices, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and coconut gives you the deep essence of a traditional, homey South Indian food.

Kada roast can be served, for holiday meals especially, Christmas, and Easter. Here I usually get quail and duck during the holiday season. It comes in a pack of six, so it was perfect for this roast recipe. Earlier I shared a Kerala style spicy Kada/quail fry.

 This quail roast recipe is taking the fried quail to the next level-roasting it along with caramelized onion and spices and coconut. Do not rush with the process of caramelizing the onion. This roasting imparts a unique flavor and enhances the taste of the curry. Spicy Kerala quail roast has very little gravy, and is a semi-dry preparation. It can be paired with rice, chapati or fried rice. Try this recipe..guarantee it will provide you an exotic eating experience. Happy Cooking!

Prep time- 10 minutes
Cooking time- 30 minutes
Cuisine- Kerala/South Indian

Ingredients
Kada/ quail- 4
Chilly powder -1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/3 tsp
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For the Masala
Thinly sliced Onion- 2 medium

Tomato- 2

Crushed shallots- 1/2 cup
Ginger- 2 inch thick piece

Garlic- 5-6 pods
Green chilly- 2
Kashmiri Chilly powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Curry leaves - a few

Sliced coconut- 2 tbs
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
oil

Roast and make a powder

Coriander seeds- 3/4 tsp

Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp

Clove-2

Cardamom- 2 tsp

Cinnamon stick- a small piece

Black pepper - a few

The first step is to prep and marinate the quail.  It is best if you can marinate overnight or at least one hour before frying the quail. Do not deep fry till crispy. You don't want the meat to dry out.
 Dry roast all your spices on the low flame till there is a nice aroma. I grind all my spices in a coffee grinder. You can also double or triple the recipe to make a larger batch and store it in an airtight container. This spice blend is good for any meal preparation.
 The final part is to make the masala. Do not rush with the process of caramelizing the onions. Slow cooking of the onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes imparts great flavor and texture. The perfect time to add your spices is when the oil separates from the masala. Now coming to the recipe...

Dry roast the ingredients listed under 'Roast and powder'. Roast in low flame and then make a fine powder and set aside.

 Clean and marinate the quail with chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger garlic paste. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour

 Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry it until it is slightly crispy on the outside. Remove this from the oil and set aside.
 Make a course mixture of shallots, ginger, garlic, and green chili.
 In the same pan, add curry leaves and sliced coconut. When coconut slices turn golden brown add thinly sliced onion and saute for two minutes. Into this, add the crushed onion and ginger-garlic mixture and saute till onions become golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns mushy and oil separates. Now the fried quail goes into the pan, mix gently, and add 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook for 6-7 minutes on low flame. Sprinkle the roasted spice mix and allow the gravy to reduce and or till it is semi-dry. Serve with rice, appam, or chapati.

Like this recipe, try similar recipes,

Kerala Quail/Kada Fry
Kerala Duck Roast

Tandoori Chicken
Kozhi Nirachathu/Malabar Stuffed Chicken

Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!