Ma'er Moto Murgir Jhol / Chicken Curry

My oven was not working for almost a year. Micro-oven is good for warming the food and making some puddings...but for making cakes you need to have that oven. So last week finally I could find a man who repaired the oven and right away....I made carrot cake!! Its summer....so what can be better than making a light and fluffy sweet carrot cake??? But unfortunately I made too much of that cake batter which gave us way more carrot cakes than we could actually finish. Perks (er...or curse???) of being out of practise I guess!!!

The chicken curry I am posting today is my mother’s special chicken curry. She rarely used tomatoes in her curries and her specialty was “Koshano” which is simmering on low flame with very little water...so the curry paste can be slow cooked which eventually gives a dark brown colour to the gravy and a very strong pungent flavour. So...if you want a good dish you have to work hard. You can not put it on simmer and go away...this is a kind of dish which required all your attention and you better have to give that.

Heat the oil and temper it with cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves.

Add the onions and cook them until golden brown. 

Then add the ginger - garlic - chilli paste and cook until the raw flavour is gone.

Then add little water and add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.

Simmer on low flame till the oil oozes out. Add some water again and cook till all the water evaporates. Repeat this process 2-3 times.

Next add the chicken pieces and cook till all the moisture evaporates and then add water and salt.

When the chicken is half cooked add the potatoes and keep cooking till the chicken and potatoes are soft from inside and simmer till the gravy reaches your desired consistency. Finish off with a little garam masala powder.

If you look at the ingredients list its a very simple chicken curry which in no way differs from other Bengali style chicken curries...but the secret is in its cooking style. So if you have time and you are ready to give your full attention then do cook this chicken curry. Its worthy of all the effort.

 Ma’er Moto Murgir Jhol / Simple Chicken Curry

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken

2 medium potatoes – peeled and halved

2-3 medium onions – grated / chopped

6-7 fat garlic cloves – minced / paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

3-4 green chillies – chopped

2 tsp turmeric powder

2-3 tsp red chilli powder

1 and ½ tsp cumin powder

1 and ½ tsp coriander powder

1 medium cinnamon stick

3 green cardamoms

3 cloves

2 medium bay leaves

1 tsp garam masala powder

A handful of fresh coriander leaves – chopped (optional)

½ cup mustard oil

Salt

Method:

Heat the oil and temper it with cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and bay leaves.

Sauté for half a minute and then add the chopped / grated onions to them.

Stir and cook the onions for 3-5 minutes on medium flame or until the onions become slightly golden brown.

Now add the ginger – garlic and chilli paste to them and cook until the raw flavour of the garlic is gone and the onions are deep golden brown. You need to stir the onions continuously or otherwise they will turn black and taste bitter.

Now add a dash of water to them and add in the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder.

Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the raw flavour of the spices are waved away and the oil has started to separate at the edges of the kadai.

Then add ¼ th cup of water and stir and cook on medium flame till all the water evaporated and the oil oozes out. Follow this process 3 times. In the end you will see the onions have become total mushy and has left a very smooth thick and dark brown curry for you.

Now add the chicken pieces.

Sprinkle some salt and cook the chicken pieces. After 2 minutes the chicken pieces will start to change their colour and ooze water. Cook those chickens until all the water evaporated from them disappears.

Now add 2-3 cups of water and salt to them. Mix them in and cover them to cook.

Do check in between and stir them.

When the chicken pieces are half done, add the halved and peeled potatoes to them and keep cooking. You can also deep fry the potatoes until golden before adding them to curry.

When the chicken pieces are almost done, put off the lid and let the water evaporate.

When the gravy reaches your desired consistency taste and adjust the seasonings.

The gravy should not be too thin like “jhol” or too thick like “kosha”. It should be somewhere in the middle.

Make sure that the potatoes are fully cooked by that time.

Sprinkle the garam masala powder over them and put off the flame.

Serve hot with some chopped coriander leaves and lime juice drizzled over them with plain rice.