Kancha Lonka Murgi II

Kancha Lonka Murgi II 

I rarely cook a special dish without following a recipe from an old cookbook or a cookbook by a chef I trust and I mostly stick to a recipe when I follow it which is why on that rare occasion when I make a recipe without following any recipe and go with my flow it instantly becomes special to me especially if I love the taste and more so if the people who taste it like it.

Now if you cannot stand heat and I meat hot and spicy food where the heat comes from chili then this particular recipe is not for you. It is called Green chili chicken for a reason.

What I most like about the dishes from my roots that is Bengal is how many of its recipes especially when meat is concerned is cooked sans garlic and onion and it yet turns out delicious.

Last year I made this 'Kacha Lonka Murgi' kancha lonka = green chili and Murgi = chicken following my friend Priyadarshini's recipe which used garlic and ginger paste and green chili.

This time I created my own recipe sans the garlic and I have to say I absolutely loved it. One other factor which is crucial is the use of mustard oil. This dish just simply cannot come out well without that strong flavour of mustard oil.

You must serve it with hot piping rice for a beautiful experience.


Makes approximately 4 to 5 servings :

1 kilogram chicken
40 green chilies made into a smooth paste using water. (The number of chilies depends largely on their strength of heat so start with 30 green chilies and if it doesn't taste hot enough use 40. I used 40 of them)
1 tbsp smooth ginger paste
3/4 tsp nigella seeds
1/2 tsp radhuni (optional)
4 tbsp mustard oil
Salt as per taste

Marinate the chicken with the ginger paste and some salt for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Now heat the mustard oil and when its smoky turn down the heat and add the nigella seeds and radhuni if available and when it splutters add the chicken and sear it on high heat for 1 minute and stir and then simmer on the lowest heat possible covering the pan and let it cook on low heat for 7 minutes and add half the green chili paste and 1/4th cup of water  and keep cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes or so and add the rest of the green chili and cook for another 5 minutes and let it rest for 7 minutes to 10 minutes and serve with piping hot rice.