Achari Murgh
Recipe Ingredients:
- For the Marinade:
- Chicken - 1 lb (drumsticks or other cuts)
- Yogurt - ½ cup
- Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Pickling Spice Mix:
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
- Kalonji (black onion seeds) - ½ tsp
- For the Achari Murgh:
- kisan canola cooking Oil - 2 tbsp
- Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
- Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
- Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
- Red chili powder - 1 heaped tbsp (or less, for a less spicy version)
- Pickling spice mix - 1 tbsp
- Chicken - 1 lb (marinated)
- Water - 1 cup
- Salt - to taste
- Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp, crushed
- Cilantro leaves - to garnish
Recipe Method:
- Wash chicken nd pat dry. Marinate chicken in the marinade ingredients at least for an hour, or even overnight.
- Heat a skillet and dry roast the pickling spice mix ingredients over a low heat. Do not burn them. Cool and grind to a powder. It does not need to be very fine, a little bit coarse is okay. Set this aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and saute till they are lightly browned. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute till the raw smell is gone.
- Then add the tomatoes paste and red chili powder and cook for a couple of minutes. At this point, you can blend this mixture to make a smooth paste or proceed with the next step.
- Add the pickling spice mix and chicken, reserving the marinade juices.
- Cook the chicken in this thick masala on all sides to seal in the juices, 8-10 minutes. Now add water and the reserved marinade and give it a good stir. Season with salt, cover the lid and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes or till chicken is done.
- Open the lid, check seasoning and spice levels. Add crushed kauri methi and cook further if the gravy needs to be reduced.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Serve hot with steamed rice, rotis, naan and such.