Stir-Fried Chicken with Green Chili, Indo-Chinese Style.
ORIGIN Chinatown - Kolkata || West Bengal || India
TAGS spicy, hot, chili, chicken, indo chinese, kolkata, west bengal, appetizer
This dish combines two things that is much loved in India - chicken and butter! While rooted in Punjabi cuisine, the dish, Murg Makhani or Butter Chicken, was said to be first concocted in a restaurant in the Union Territory of Delhi. The restaurant, Moti Mahal, is so famous that there are several articles about it even in international news media. In less than half a century, this dish has become a so popular across India and the world alike that its origins are often forgotten.
However, does its more recent origins really matter? All of the great dishes from around the world we love today were a product of experimentation - the desire to produce art with ingredients available at-hand.
Butter Chicken is a perfect dish to make on a cold winter night. The heat from the spices is tempered by the butter, yoghurt, and cream. The result is rich sauce that can be served with white rice, pulao (rice cooked with vegetables and spices), chapati (unleavened flatbread made with whole wheat), or even naan (leavened flatbread cooked in a clay oven called tandoor).
It is not surprising that this dish was a product of Punjabi genius. Punjab is a large and fertile plain, east of Afghanistan and west of the Gangetic Plain in northern India. Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan during the independence of the United Kingdom. Its name is derived from Persian origin, meaning 'land of the five waters', referring to the five tributaries of the mighty river Indus. The western Punjab, larger and dominated by Muslims, became and continues to be Pakistan's most populous province. The smaller eastern portion was incorporated in to India, and is dominated by Sikhs and Hindus. In 1966, the southeastern part of India's Punjab was made its own state, named Haryana. Punjab is also the birthplace of Sikhism, the youngest of the major religions of India. This region, long at the frontier of the Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia is a melting pot of art and culture. This is also reflected in its cuisine. Tandoori cooking style - the art of grilling and baking in a cylindrical clay oven fired with charcoal - was perfected here. The tandoor is used to grill meat kebabs or quickly bake flatbreads on its walls. Located in the colder and more temperate part of India, Punjab has the perfect climate and fecund soils for growing wheat. Breads - both leavened and unleavened - are commonly eaten daily. Some of the tastiest and simplest meals in Punjab and Haryana are paratha with yoghurt and spicy pickles. Parathas are unleavened flatbreads with fillings such as mashed potato, or minced cauliflower, or even grated radish. Finally, Punjabi cuisine is also known for its rich gravies and sauces due to the heavy use of milk products like butter, ghee, and cream. Lassi, a drink with a thick consistency made with yoghurt and cream, is said to originate here too. Like it cuisine, Punjab's culture is rich, flamboyant, and colourful too.
To make the most succulent chicken for the rich gravy, it is important to use dark meat cuts, preferably bone-in. The chicken is marinated in a spicy yoghurt marinade and grilled (traditionally in a tandoor).The cooked chicken is simmered then in a thick sauce made of garlic and tomatoes, which is made decadent with the butter and heavy cream.
An ingredient which may not always be in your spice cabinet is fenugreek (dried or fresh leaves, or seeds). It is a common ingredient found in North Indian households, but may not be easy to find abroad unless you are willing to visit an Indian grocer. Fenugreek leaves and seeds both have unique flavours. The dried leaves especially add a very permeating aroma, as a result of a compound known as sotolon, which is also found in maple syrup.
SERVINGS: 2 - 3
PREPARATION: 20 minutes
DEEP-FRYING: 12 - 15 minutes
STIR-FRYING: 5 - 7 minutes
EQUIPMENT || mixing bowl, wok ||
INGREDIENTS
Batter
90 g or 3 oz all purpose flour
60 g or 2 oz corn starch powder
1/2 tbsp sea salt
Deep-Frying
250 mL or 8.5 fl oz vegetable oil
Sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp red chili sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp.white vinegar
1 tsp MSG crystals
2 tsp corn starch powder
Stir-Fry
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chili oil (Chinese variety)
700 g or 1.5 lb boneless chicken
1/2" or 1 cm knob ginger
4 medium cloves garlic
5 - 15 Thai or Indian green chili
optional 4 - 5 long, mild green chili
1 medium white onion
1/4 each green, red, yellow, & orange bell peppers (capsicum)
3 - 4 spring onion or scallion stalks
DIRECTIONS
Remove skin and leave meat on bone. Using meat cleaver, separate drumstick from thigh. Cut thigh into two pieces. Gently score chicken pieces on all sides.
Peel garlic cloves and ginger piece. Mix and make into a fine paste using mortar and pestle. Use only 1 tbsp. Reserve rest for sauce (makhani).
Mix garlic-ginger paste, red chili powder, paprika powder, salt, oil, and yogurt in a bowl. Whisk thoroughly until smooth. Add scored chicken pieces to marinade mixture. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 4 hours. Skewer chicken pieces.
Pre-heat oven to 220°C or 425°F. Place chicken pieces in middle rack. Use skewers to keep pieces elevated. Bake for 25 minutes until no pinkness in meat is observed. Move pieces to top rack and broil for 2 minutes to char top surface. Remove from oven and keep aside.
NOTES: If you plan to use boneless pieces, make sure to only use thighs. Breast meat is not suitable for this recipe and will render the final dish tasteless. Do not marinate the meat beyond 8 or 12 hours, as the meat will become over-tenderized. Boneless pieces may require less time in the oven, so check on the pieces at the 20-minute mark. Do not skip the smoked paprika as it will mimic (to a certain extent) the smokiness imparted by a tandoor. If you do not have an oven, pan-fry the pieces on a non-stick skillet for 15 minutes on medium heat.
SUBSTITUTIONS & OMISSIONS
mustard oil : vegetable oil + 1 tsp hot mustard
Kashmiri chili powder : paprika (unsmoked)
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