Chicken Lucknawi

                          Chicken Lucknawi

This recipe is my creation and I named it Chicken Lucknawi because I prepared this at Lucknow when I was visiting my hometown. This recipe claims no connection with nawabs of Lucknow! This is simple but unique in its own way. I always try to play around with spices and omitting this and adding that here and there just creates mouthwatering dishes. As they say nothing can go wrong with chicken,so I take the liberty of playing around with spices. Without much ado,let's start.

Chicken Lucknawi

 

Ingredients:

• Chicken..500 gm.
• Onion..3-4
• Garlic..4 cloves
• Ginger..1" piece
• Bay leaf..2
• Whole red chilli..2
• Green chilli..1
• Curd..2 tbsp.
• Corriander powder..1 leveled tsp.
• Turmeric powder..1/2 tsp.
• Chilli powder..2 tsp.(soaked in 4 tbsp. of water) You can use 1 tsp. 
• Kashmiri chilli powder..1 tsp.
• Whole spices to be ground (Cinnamon 1/2" piece,Black cardamom 1,green cardamoms 5, black pepper 3-4)
• Magaz (melon seeds)..2tsp.
• Salt to taste
• Ghee(clarified butter)..2tsp.+1 tsp.
• Mustard oil or refined oil..3tbsp.+Ghee..1 tsp.
• 1/2 cup water
• Kasoori methi..1 tbsp.

Procedure:

 

1. Wash chicken and marinate with minced or grated ginger-garlic,salt and curd. Set aside for half an hour.
2. Peel onions and thinly slice 2 of them,thickly chop the rest.
3. Heat mustard or refined oil+1 tsp. ghee in a vessel,add bay leaves and stir for a couple of seconds. Remove the bay leaves and discard them,they have done their job.
4. Now add thinly sliced onions and sprinkle kashmiri chilli powder and saute till they turn pink.
5. Add marinated chicken and on medium flame,seer them till you see some pink spots on the pieces.
6. Now add thickly chopped onions, corriander powder, turmeric powder and tightly cover the lid.( I use pressure cooker and cook till one whistle).
7. It separates water and onions get mushy,at this stage open the lid and add soaked chilli powder.
8. Bhuno this on low flame. when you see oil floating on the surface add ground magaz and again bhuno for 3 minutes.
9. Add 1 tsp. ghee and all the ground whole spices.
10. Add water and when it comes to a boil,sprinkle kasoori methi.
11. Transfer in a serving dish and enjoy with chapatis, naan, parathas or rice.