Murgh Korma

Murgh Korma 

For years I have heard my grandmother and others of her generation indulging in nostalgia about the good old days when most dishes would be prepared in Pure ghee which has been replaced with refined oil. The first time I decided to give a dish a try with ghee alone it was a big celebration where we had invited a lot of guests and I cooked a delightful recipe of Chicken in it and my guests could not stop praising it even though the recipe was of course collected. It was from then on that I realized that ghee can never be repalced by refined oil.

On any regular day I would rather use Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil for my poached or boiled or steamed chicken but on those rare occasions that I make a special preparation I stick to ghee or in some other traditional cases I use mustard oil which has a full bodied flavour of its own. So these days I only use refined oil on those rare occasions when I deep fry some item.

The influence of Mughal cuisine is quite strong in the whole of North India and even though Bengal lies in the far east it has a strong influence of Mughal because the Mughal  rule had spread out to the Far east by the 16th century which is why most Bengali families have a strong affinity for Mughali cuisine. And not that when the Nawab of Lucknow had to relocate to Calcutta he brought along with him a culinary tradition which has stayed on in the beautiful city of Calcutta currently known as Kolkata.

While growing up I have mostly seen my father prepare a Mughlai Chicken preparation which he liked to call Mughlai Murgi which means Chicken cooked in the Mughlai style.  Much later when I stepped into adulthood and had by that time developed an intense passion for cooking I read in an article about the history of Chicken Korma and realized what my father would cook was essentially Chicken Korma except that he would add that one ingredient which most Bengalis have an intense love for and the one ingredient I hate using in dishes , the humble potato . So what I did was modify the recipe to suit my taste (with influence from that article that I read) by trying to keep it as close to the original Mughal recipe as possible and the result is a lip smacking dish. Cooked in pure ghee with the resultant thick gravy coating the succulent pieces of chicken it is indeed a dish I would suggest people to try.


400gm chicken (preferably leg + thigh)
1 large onion roughly chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste as smooth as possible
2 green cardamom
2 cloves
100gm thick curd
100ml milk
3 tsp non-melted clarified butter
1 large bay leaf
Salt as per taste
1 tsp coriander powder
Pinch of cumin powder
3 dried red chilies
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 inch cinnamon
Pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 cup water

Cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Marinate it with half the ginger garlic paste for 1 hour. Now heat 2 tsp unmelted ghee and fry the chopped onions on low heat.

First cover the onions and let it soften and then open the cover and fry it on low heat till it reaches a golden stage. Take it out and let it cool down and in the meantime add 1/2 tsp unmelted ghee and seal the juices of the chicken on high heat till its browned on both the sides and switch off the gas and transfer the chicken to a plate.

Whisk your curd . Once the fried onion cools down blend it to a smooth paste . Now add 1/2 tsp unmelted ghee to the same pan and add the remaining ginger garlic paste and the onion paste and saute on low heat  for a minute and add the dried chili , cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon , mace , coriander powder, cumin powder and bay leaf and then add the curd keeping the heat to low and now you must keep stirring it continuously to prevent the curd from splitting.

Stirring it continuously bring it to a boil. It takes patience but is the only way to prevent the curd from splitting. Once it comes to a boil, add water and then add  turmeric powder, chili powder and salt and stir on low heat and bring it to a boil again and add the chicken and keep stirring and then cover and cook for 10 minutes and then add the milk , mix well and cook till the oil separates and the gravy becomes thick and coats the chicken. Let it rest for 15 minutes to absorb all the flavour and serve with homemade wholewheat flat-bread.

Tips

1. Covering the onion when softening it speeds up the process 
2. Take care to fry the onion to a golden brown colour but make sure you do not burn it else it will leave a bitter taste 
3. Stirring the gravy continuously after adding the curd is essential to prevent the curd from splitting. 

Bhetki Macher Kalia

Bhetki Macher Kalia 

(Fish in a rich gravy from Bengal) 

We Bengalis from Eastern India are known for our love for fish. In fact there was a time when chicken was not allowed in most homes and mutton was also mostly avoided other than the meat cooked from animal sacrifice. Of course all that has changed and in fact Bengal was one of the first few states where one could enjoy a wide variety of cuisines but then again with time the rest of India caught up with its global outlook and some have more to offer than our state at present but a Bengali's love for fish remains unchanged. There are enough number of varieties of fish to confuse me and I personally do not like all the varieties but then again there is one fish which I simply love and that is the famous 'Bhetki' . Its probably the soft texture of the fish or the fact that it is what is mostly used for fries which most people love and is an item which is a definitive inclusion for all special occasions.

We Bengalis have a way of organizing and categorizing everything so we have soupy curries which we call 'Jhol' then the word 'Jhal' which literally translates to hot food can mean different things to different family. To my family any 'Jhal' will most obviously have mustard to provide the heat and then there is Kalia . I am not sure what it exactly means but all I know is it is a rich curry which is mostly served on special occasions. I recently read that it is called so because of the use of onions but since the source is not completely credible I wouldn't go by it.

Most homes have their own version of Kalia with addition and substraction of a few ingredients and as usual for traditional Bengali dishes I have looked upto my Mimi who has taught me the tricks of Bengali cuisine. Before I move on to the recipe I have to say a few words about my beloved aunt (Mother's Brother's wife). I have not seen any other lady who always produces perfect dishes from her kitchen. Her luchis are always perfectly puffed up (Puffed up flatbread) Her dishes always have the perfect balance between spices and saltiness and sweetness and if you follow her recipe then its a cakewalk because we all learn from experience as to what we must do and not do when preparing something but with Mimi she tells you beforehand what problems you might face. So she warns you that the fish might break for frying and you have to handle it gently or it would splutter oil so that int eh end you end up with a lovely dish and half of the credit goes to her. Here is a recipe which had been handed to her by her mother and since she has handed to me I might as well this recipe a heritage one.

Serves 4 to 5

Around 1 kilogram and 100gm Bhetki fish sliced into 8 pieces
1 heaped tbsp smooth ginger paste in which 2 green chilies has been added before making the paste
1 heaped tbsp smooth garlic paste
5 tbsp smooth onion paste
6 tbsp tomato paste
2 green cardamom
Cinnamon around the size of half a thumb
4 cloves
2 large bay leaves
Mustard oil to fry the fish
4 tbsp ghee
Salt as per taste
1 tsp chili powder
Turmeric for rubbing on the fish and a pinch to be used for the gravy
650ml of water
1 green chili for garnishing

Start by rubbing salt , turmeric and 1 tbsp mustard oil on the fish and marinating in it for about 1 hour. Now heat the oil and fry the fish but do not brown it. Since it will be used in the gravy one should ideally fry it lightly so that it reaches a nice golden colour and transfer to a big container.

Now decant the extra mustard oil and heat 3 tbsp ghee and add the ginger paste and garlic paste and sautee till the raw smell goes away and add the onion paste and then wait till the raw smell of onions go away and you find the oil separating and then add the tomato and crushed bay leaf and sautee till the oil separates out . Now crush the whole spices but do not grind them and add them and then bring the wet spice which is being cooked to a boil and add the chili powder, turmeric and salt and then simmer and add the water and bring to boil and then lower heat and add the fish one by one but very carefully and simmer covered for the next 15 minutes or so. You shall see a film of fat from the ghee and then switch off the gas stove and transfer it to a bowl. When transferring remember that the fish is soft so try and gently place them one by one and then use a bit of gravy and place a few more fish and top with more gravy. Use 1 slit green chili for garnishing and serve with plain steamed rice .

Tips

1. The fish is very soft and so there is a chance that it might easily break so  when turning it while frying handle it very gently. 
2. Do not brown the fish else the gravy would not penetrate through . ideally the fish should have a golden hue when you should take it out of the wok and transfer it to a dish. 

Murg- E -Shalimar

So it has been a busy three days of  celebration of Diwali which meant food , food and more food and a tired tired tired me . Serves people such as myself right for not wanting anybody's help :)

With the oncoming Bhai-phota it meant another day of celebration. As long as I remember we have never celebrated festive occasions  in a  big way but come that one day of the year where sisters pray for their brothers' well being and our house would be flooded with guests.  It would be a day of fun , laughter and lots of enjoyment. For as long as I remember my grandmother has always hired caterers but this time I forbade her to book the caterers. I was going to cook for 12 guests since many were unable to come. This meant looking for the suitable recipes ahead of time. So it is Monday morning and I am rummaging through recipe after recipe. Now I have this bad habit where I do not like frequenting the same recipes. So should I not have taken the easy path and cooked so many chicken dishes I have prepared over the years but no Sir I wanted to take upon a challenge of a new dish.

I sought the help of NDTVcooks.com. The last time I challenged myself to a new dish for an occasion  it was the Lamb lazzez handi , a superb dish of lamb which was a beautiful success and so this time I rummaged through their Pakistan team's recipes and then ah well something caught my attention, Murgh -e -Shalimar. First of all I have special respect for dishes from the northwest frontier cuisine, Lahori cuisine, Awadhi cuisines etc etc . Shalimar conjured these images of Lahori splendor and suddenly I found myself remembering this particular Nawab from Vikram Seth's , "A Suitable Boy" one who loved his delicate food, his music and books and was a true blue sophisticated Nawab. Further reading made me realize I can pretty much imagine the Nawab listening to ghazals and  slowly enjoying this lovely dish on a silver plate while the devastating decay around him makes it a heart wrenching beautiful image. Anyways back to my old house in Calcutta, reading through the recipe I realized it was not your usual recipe. Here you bring curd, onions, poppy seeds , sesame seeds and cashew nuts. And this is exactly what fascinated me and I immediately decide upon this recipe.

I did alter a few things.

With the result I would suggest this be tried at all kitchens.

Here is my Mur e Shalimar

Chicken: 2 kg

For marination: 2 tablespoonful of salt, 3 tablespoonful of freshly ground black or white pepper , 2.5 tablespoonful of ginger paste 3 tablespoonful of garlic paste

Curd : 500gm
Cashew nuts: 100gm
Poppy seeds - 3 tablespoonful
sesame seeds - 2.5 tablespoonful
Onions :400gm

Coriander leaves: 1 big bunch
Green chilies - 8 of them
Green cardamom: 1.5 tablespoonful
Cloves: 1.5 tablespoonful

Ghee/clarified butter: 200gm or a little less
Coconut milk - 1 tetra pack (200ml)
Grated coconut: 3 tablespoonful
Whole milk :500ml

Now the recipe called for cream but I wanted to make it as homemade possible and simply reduced 500ml of milk to a thick creamy consistency (when it yields about 1 small bowl of creamy delight) and put in the blender with coconut and a little bit of milk.

Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and ginger paste and garlic paste for about 12 horus to 15 hours.

Before starting off I suggest keeping everything ready so blend your coriander leaves and green chilies. I did not find mint leaves in the market else use a mix of mint leaves and coriander leaves.

Bring the curd, poppy seeds, cashew nuts , sesame seeds and chopped onions to a quick boil. Cool and blend into a smooth smooth consistency.

Now heat the ghee in a big pan and add crushed green cardamom and crushed cloves. Then add your curd mixture and keep stirring till the oil separates and add the chicken and bring to about and simmer till chicken is cooked tender , add the green paste and bring to a boil again and simmer covered for sometime till you find the chicken tender and this when you add the cream mixture and coconut milk, again bring to boil very slowly and simmer till chicken reaches the consistency of melt in your mouth texture and . The gravy is supposed to be thick so when reducing ti just do not use the cover and cook in the open for sometime. Make sure that nothing gets stuck in the bottom ,so using medium flame is the way to go except for the times that you bring everything to a boil. And we are done. Have it with plain Basmati rice or with hot chapatis. This is heavy enough and probably not suited for any puris. The dish is truly Nawabi indeed.