Murg Musallam is a Mughlai dish traditionally made with whole chicken. Whole chicken is stuffed with chicken mince and eggs. But here I have made an easier version which tastes equally flavorful. The delicate flavor of saffron along with the creaminess of the gravy makes it worth the effort.
Ingredients for chicken marinade
1 kg Chicken
1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste +2 tsp for gravy
1/2 turmeric powder
2 tsp red chili powder
1/4 cup dahi
7-8 strands of Saffron (optional)
Salt to taste
Musallam Masala
1/4 cup dry or desiccated coconut
2 tsp Khus khus (poppy seeds)
10 almonds (soaked in water and peeled)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp shah jeera (caraway seeds)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 inch cinnamon
2-3 cloves
5-6 peppercorns
Other ingredients
3 onions sliced
2 chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp oil or ghee
1/4 cup dahi
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Coriander leaves for garnish
Method
Marinate chicken with the ingredients mentioned for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator.
For Musallam masala dry roast each ingredient separately till the time it gives aroma. Cool the ingredients and then blend it into fine paste in the blender.
Slice onions and in 2 tsp oil fry them till then are golden brown.
Now heat oil/ghee in pan. Add the onion paste. Now add tomatoes and cook them till they are mushy. Mix the marinated chicken and cook it on high flame for 5 minutes. Mix half of ginger garlic paste and fry it well. Now mix the remaining dahi. ( use 1/4 dahi for marination and 1/4 in the gravy)
Now add the musallam masala and mix it with the chicken to that each and every piece is coated with the masala for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and cover and cook the chicken for 10-12 minutes.
Open the lid to see if the chicken is cooked. If not, cook for some more time. Check to see if there is no masala getting burned at the bottom. The gravy tends to get very thick as there is poppy seeds and almond. It can be made more spicy if desired.
Adjust the water. But do not make it too watery. This gravy is thick so that the chicken is well coated with the masala. Turn off the heat when the chicken is cooked. Serve hot with chapati, roti or naan.
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