Recipe: Easy-peasy Chicken Rezala

Of all the influences, the long Mughal Rule has had on India, we would say the culinary influence has been the most profound one. Dishes like Biriyani, Kebabs and Rezala though being core Mughlai delicacies are now synonymous with our Bengali cuisine.

Rezala is a slow cooked, very thin-gravied stewy dish which can be cooked with either chicken or mutton. It has the un-common pairing of onion with sour curd resulting in an unique blend of sweet and sour with the perfect underdones of spiciness. While there are many variants to cooking a Rezala, here is an easy one from our Chef Monkey’s kitchen with a bit of Honuman touch!

Do try it and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂

Preparation Time: 1 hr
Cooking Time: 1hr

Ingredients:

For the marinade:
Chicken — 1.5 kg
Onion — 3 big
Ginger — 3 inch piece
White Oil — 3 tbsp
Salt

For frying:
Onion — 2 big
Cloves — 4 pieces
Cinnamon — 2 long sticks
Cardamom — 4 pieces
Black peppercorns — 6 pieces
Dry red chillies — 3/4 pieces
Yogurt – 500gm or alternatively Milk – 500ml
Poppy Seeds Paste — 4 tbsp
Cashew Nuts — 15 pieces
Salt
Sugar
Ghee

Method:

1. Soak the cashew nuts in some water. Once they become a bit soft, grind in a mixer into fine paste. Keep aside.
2. Take 3 big onions and the ginger and make a paste in mixer.
3. Marinate chicken with this onion-ginger paste, some salt and 3tbsp white oil for atleast for an hour.
4. Cut 2 big onions into fine slices. Heat oil in a round bottom pan/kadai and deep fry the onions untill crisp and golden brown. Keep aside.
5.  Once chicken is marinated, heat up a pan and pour 2-3 tablespoons of Ghee.
6. Add the Whole Garam Masala –  cloves, cinnamom sticks, Cardamoms, whole black peppercorns and dry red chillies. Let whole spices fry on shallow flame. 
7.  Once the spice is fried and aromatic, add in the chicken.
8. Add 3-4 green chillies and fry the chicken with the spices on low flame for 20 mins. Stir continuously.
9.  Now pour in 500 ml milk or curd/ yogurt.
10. Add 4 tablespoons poppy seeds paste (Bengali: posto bata).
11. Add 4 tablespoons of cashew nut paste.
12. Add salt and little sugar as per taste now.
13. Let the chicken simmer for 40 mins while stirring occassionally.
14. Once chicken is cooked through, take off the heat, add the fried onions and stir well.

Serve hot with plain rice or roti/ nann. Chicken Rezala tastes amazing with Palau too.

Let us know if you like it and don’t forget to like and share!

-From
The Chef Monkey 

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