Sajji Murgh

Sajji Murgh 

When I first tried Faiza's Chargha Murgh I was delighted and so I jotted down her recipe for Sajji Murgh and was on the lookout for a special day to make it. Ah well leaving my beloved city for a few months is reason enough. It usually needs a coal pit but Faiza teaches you to make it in the oven and you use a coal for the smoky effect . I did increase the time for marination but I otherwise stuck to her recipe.

Recipe Source : Cook with Faiza

So here goes the recipe :-

1 whole skinless chicken around 1.5 kilogram
1 tbsp salt

For the marinate :-

2 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp freshly crushed black peppercorn
5 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste

For the rub :-

1/2 tsp Dry mango powder
1/2 tsp Ginger powder
1/2 tsp Rock Salt
1 tsp Green cardamom powder
1 tbsp black peppercorn
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds

A piece of coal
1/2 tsp ghee

This is an overnight preparation. So first you need to submerge the chicken in a bowl full of water with 1 tbsp salt and leave it overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day take the chicken out and pat it dry and now make a emulsion with the ghee, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt , ginger paste , garlic paste and freshly crushed black pepper and marinate the chicken rubbing it inside out and leave it for 1 hour to 2 hours.

Now preheat oven to 200C and roast the chicken for 50 minutes turning it midway . Make sure you cover the chicken with a foil when roasting.

In the meantime make your spice rub .Dry roast the cumin seed, coriander seed and black pepper and crush them and then mix it with the remaining spices. After 50 minutes of roasting take off the foil and rub this spice rub which you have created all over the chicken on both sides and roast for another 10 minutes with the foil on.

Now heat the coal over the gas flame and when it smokes take a bit of foil and put it beside the chicken in the roasting tray and add the ghee . This will create the smoke. Now immediately cover with foil and leave it for 10 minutes. Enjoy melt in the mouth soft Sajji Murgh.

I paired it with some Pomegranate raita.

Notes :-

1. The overnight submerging in saline water makes the chicken ultra soft 
2. Since you are roasting the chicken without the skin the foil helps retain the moisture