Chicken Rezala is very popular and authentic dish
originated in Bengal and highly influenced by Mughlai cuisine. This royal dish is simply magical with it’s
delicious aroma, texture and lip-smacking taste. The chicken is slow-cooked in
a white cashew nut gravy with a blend of aromatic spices which lends a divine
flavour to this dish. It has a perfect blend of sweetness and sourness in a
mildly spiced gravy which makes it just delectable with Naan, Roomali Roti or Paratha
. The juicy succulent pieces of meat drowned in silky white semi thick gravy which glides through your taste bud without being
heavy, besides bringing that perfect balance of
sweetness and heat.
Chicken Rezala
has so much of complex flavours and layers of taste, which makes it is so distinctive from other Mughlai
dishes. The secret behind a successful Rezala is the use
of homemade sweet yogurt that nicely compliments the dish giving a nice sweet
taste. Though Rezala is synonymous with mutton, some can
also prepare it with chicken, mushroom, paneer, fish egg or prawn. The white gravy is made with curd, cashew nut and poppy seeds paste,
flavored with subtle spices which are not commonly used in normal dishes. Apart
from cardamom, cloves, the dish is spiced with nutmeg powder, white
pepper powder and got contrasted by whole dry red chili and garnished with ghee/ clarified butter.
Unlike other Bengali delicacies which has travelled to
far away land, Rezala remain confined to the geographical
boundaries of Kolkata.The long period of Muslim rule in the country has
greatly influenced the architecture and cuisine of the country and Bengal was
no exception.The most interesting
thing about this recipe of chicken rezala is the uses of few chosen spices, slow cooking and uncommon blending of
onion with curd used for
marination as well as for cooking. I have arrived at this recipe after going through many
recipes on internet and food magazines, but a special mention to my friend Piyali Muthha from mytrystwithfoodandtravel whose
Chicken Rezala has tempted me to try this and blog about it.
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time : 20 to 25 minutes
Serves:4
Ingredients
For the Marination:
- 4 nos of Skinless Chicken leg pieces
- 2 Medium Size onion
- 4 to 5 large Garlic Pods
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 cup Fresh Curd
- 1 teaspoon White Pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg Powder
- 4 Green Cardamom
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 4 Cloves
- 8 Black Peppercorn
- 2 Red Chili
- 1 Bayleaf
- 2 teaspoon Ghee/Clarified Butter
- 3 teaspoon Refine Oil
- 8 whole Cashew Nuts
- 1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- A few strands Saffron
Let’s Learn
How to make this Chicken Rezala:
- Soak the poppy seed and cashew nuts in warm water for minimum 30 minutes.
- Wash the chicken and drain all water from it. Make cuts in the chicken pieces with a sharp knife so that the marinade will soak through it. Keep aside.
- Boil the Onions till done, let it cool. When cool, drain the water and grind along with ginger and garlic together in a blender to make a smooth paste.The paste has to be absolutely smooth.
- Using a whisk, beat the curd to make it smooth.Grind cashew and poppy seeds to a paste and keep aside.
- In a bowl mix onion,ginger garlic paste and curd. Add nutmeg and pepper powder. Add salt to taste. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and marinate. Keep it aside for minimum 30 minutes .
- Heat the oil. Lightly pound the whole spices so that it can release it’s aroma and add to the oil. Let it sizzle with lovely aroma. Now put the marinated chicken pieces and sauté on medium heat till all sides turn white. Now pour in all the marinade and Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the poppy and cashew seeds paste and cook for a minute.Pour 3/4 cup warm water. Check the seasoning and cover. Let it simmer on low heat till oil starts to float on top and the chicken is cooked through.
- Uncover and add the sugar and strands of saffron .
- Before serving heat 2 teaspoon of ghee or clarified butter and add the dried red chillies. lower the flame and let the ghee infused with the flavor of red chillies. Pour this over the curry and keep covered till you are ready to serve.
- Serve with Naan, Paratha., Kulcha or Roomali Roti etc.
Sending this recipe to Cooking from cookbook challenge for the month of March.
You can also try other chicken recipes like
- MURGH AWADHI KORMA
- BUTTER CHICKEN
- AMERICAN CHOPSUEY
- KADAI CHICKEN
- FRIED CHICKEN WONTONS
- CRISPY GARLIC CHICKEN FINGERS
- CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS
- PUNJABI STYLE GRAVY CHICKEN
- BANJARA MURGH
5 comments
Nice curry for chicken lovers.Looks good.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sapana
DeleteI'll definitely try with some vegetables.. Thx for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a very flavorful dish. The gravy is so rich and decadent. Love your clicks.
ReplyDeleteLoving all the flavors going on in your gravy. Must taste awesome, Alka :)
ReplyDelete