Chicken Rezala : Mildly Spiced Yogurt Based Chicken Curry

It’s been a long time that I haven’t shared any recipes of Chicken curry. It’s not that I have stopped trying new chicken recipes these days. Almost on every weekend, I experiment with new kind of chicken preparation for our dinner. Since my family including my son is big fan of chicken dishes, most of the time it gets finished very fast and doesn’t have sufficient leftover that I can take good pictures. This week I planned it in advance and could take the pictures for the blog so that I can share a new recipe with you. 

The name Rezala wouldn’t sound new to you, if you are from Bengal.  It’s very famous dish in Calcutta. I have seen many of friends talking fondly of weekend evenings spent in Shiraz with their signature Rezala. There are other restaurants in Calcutta like Nizam, Sabir’s, where this dish is the favorite for all food lovers. It’s commonly made with mutton but since Bengalis never stop experimenting with food, they came up with the same version of Chicken. I know many of my friends including my family don’t eat red meat. So today I am going to share the recipe of Chicken Rezala.

Chicken Rezala is a thick and mildly spiced Chicken Curry. The gravy is slightly thicker than stew and based off yogurt. The white gravy is made with cashew nuts, paste of poppy seeds and curd. The chicken is cooked in this gravy with a blend of aromatic spices like Cardamom, Cinnamon and Cloves. It also uses subtle spices like white pepper powder (Shah Morich) and rose water. Use of these subtle spices makes the taste and flavor of this dish very different from other Mughlai preparations and makes it royal. This silky-gravy chicken dish goes well with nan and parathas.

Recipe of Chicken Rezala : Serves  3 to 4 

Ingredients :

Chicken : 1 lb ( around 500 g )  ( cut into big pieces ) 
Onion : 2 medium or 1 big ( make it a fine paste )
Ginger paste : 1 + 1 teaspoons 
Garlic paste : 1/2 + 1/2 tablespoon 
Yogurt : 1 cup 
Sugar : 1/2 teaspoon
Cashew : 6 to 7 ( whole )
Poppy seeds : 1 teaspoon 
White pepper powder : as per taste 

Oil : 4 tablespoons
Ghee ( clarified butter ) : 2 tablespoons 

Whole dry red chilies : 4 

Green Cardamoms : 3 

Cinnamon stick : 2 inch 

Cloves : 3

peppercorns : 5 

Mace : little 

Nutmeg powder : a pinch 

Keora water : few drops. 

Method :

1. Wash and pat dry chicken pieces with kitchen towel. Add 1/2 of the onion paste, 1 teaspoon ginger paste, 1 tablespoon garlic paste ( fine paste ) and 3 tablespoons of beaten yogurt to chicken. Mix it well. Add white pepper powder, nutmeg powder and salt to it. Marinate the chicken for about 2 to 3 hours.

2. Soak the cashew and poppy seeds and make a smooth paste. 

3. Take a non-stick pan, and add oil and ghee and heat it up. Lightly pound the whole spices ( cardamoms, cinnamon stick, cloves, mace ) and add it to the pan. Add red chilies. 

4. Once aroma comes up, add the remaining onion paste. Stir it for couple of minutes. Then add the remaining ginger and garlic paste. Cook it until raw smell goes off. But don't make it brown. 

5. Add 2 tablespoons of cashew - poppy seeds paste to it and keep stirring. Lower the flame. Add half teaspoon of sugar to the remaining yogurt and whisk it. Add the yogurt mixture to the pan. Cook for couple of minutes. 

6. Add the marinated chicken to the pan. Stir and cook it for 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat. Add 3/4 cup of warm water, add salt and cover the pan. Let it simmer on low heat until oil starts to float on the top and chicken pieces are fully cooked. 

7. Check seasoning, add salt and white pepper powder if needed. Add Keora water and mix it well. Switch off the gas and serve hot with Naan or any kind of Paratha or Indian Flat Breads. 


** This recipe works well with Paneer, eggs and some vegetables like cauliflowers.

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Chicken Dum Biryani ( Kolkata Style )

The dish that I am going to share today doesn't need any introduction. If you ask any Bengali about his/her favorite food, 90 percent chance is that the answer would be Biryani. Some may like Goat Biryani; others may like chicken or egg Biryani. Some will vote for the “shiraz” as the best restaurant for Biryani, others will go with “Aminia”. But they are all crazy about Biryani. Even in abroad, they can travel long distance only to find a good Biryani place. Here in any community program, if the lunch/dinner menu has Biryani, then the event surely attracts more people.

In my younger days, I made several attempts to make Biryani but the end result was not good. While I was in Florida, received a recipe of pressure cooked Biryani from one of my friends and was very excited to prepare it. But then what came out of the cooker was almost like khichdiJ. Later I learned Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani from our cook in Bangalore. Whenever I made this dish, my husband's concern is that it shouldn’t be that rich/oily that restaurant serves. Rather it should be moist and the rice should be soft. I had to agree with him that this tastes better.

For the people who are not so familiar with Indian dishes, let me give a brief introduction about Biryani. It’s a rice-based dish, made with chicken, mutton, fish, eggs or vegetables and spices. Biryani is a Persian dish and was introduced to India from Persia by the Muslims travelers or merchants of the Mughal Empire. It was one of the most popular dishes in the kitchen of the Mughal Emperors. Today I will share the recipe of Pakki Dum Calcutta Biryani. Other popular versions of Biryanis are Lucknow Biryani, Hyderabad Biryani, and Bombay Biryani.

There are two types of process in the cooking of Biryani. One is Kachchi Biryani and the other one is Pakki Biryani. Kachchi means raw, raw marinated meat is cooked with rice in this type of preparation. On the other hand, in Pakki Biryani the meat is marinated for a shorter time, and cooked before being layered with the rice.  Biryani is traditionally cooked in earthenware pot which gives it a unique flavor. The pot is usually sealed with wheat dough to allow cooking in its own steam and not opened till it is ready to serve.  Biryani is mostly served with boiled egg, mixed salad and with a spicy yogurt based drink called Borhani or Raita. 

Recipe of Authentic Chicken Biryani: Serves 3 to 4 

Ingredients :

For Biryani Masala :

Fennel:1/2 tsp
Shah jeera / Black Cumin seeds:1/2 tsp
Cloves: 4
Cinnamon: 2-inch stick

Cardamom: 4-5

Black Cardamom : 1Nutmeg (grated) :1/4 tsp
Mace - 1 floret

Star anise: 1

Black peppercorn: 5-6

To Cook Chicken: 

Chicken: 2 lbs or 800 g, cut into big sizes 

Yogurt: 4 to 5 tablespoons 

Garlic paste: 2 tablespoons

Ginger paste: 1 tablespoon 

Biryani Masala: 1 1/2 tablespoons 

Red chili powder: 1 teaspoon 

Salt : 

Onion: 3 medium sized, thinly sliced 

For Rice : 

Basmati rice : 3 cups 

Salt : 

Black peppercorn : 5-6

Cinnamon : 1 stick 

Cardamom : 2-3 

Clove : 2-3 

Bay leaves : 2 

Other Ingredients: 

Potato: 2 medium sized, boiled and cut into two halves 

Hard boiled egg: 3

Milk: 1/4 cup, warm

Saffron strands: few 

Oil: 4-5 tablespoons 

Ghee / clarified butter : 5-6 tablespoons 

Kewra essence: 4-5 drops ( use it to get authentic taste or flavor or you may skip it too)

Rose water: 1 teaspoon

Method : 

1. To make the Biryani Masala, first dry roast all the spices, till they are aromatic. Let it cool down and grind it to a powder. Biryani Masala is ready. Set it aside 1 and 1/2 tablespoons for use and rest you can store it in an airtight box for a couple of months. 

2. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. In a big bowl, add yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, salt, red chili powder and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons Biryani masala. Mix together well and add the chicken pieces to the bowl. Rub the marinade all over chicken pieces gently. Wrap the bowl tightly with a plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Let it sit for overnight or at least 3 to 4 hours.

3. Now take a big pan, add oil and heat it up. Once the oil is ready, add the boiled halved potatoes and fry them till the color changes to golden brown. Once potatoes are done set it aside. In the same oil add the hard-boiled eggs and fry it till they have the brown spot on their surface. Take it out from the pan and keep it aside. 

4. In the same pan, add oil (if required) and add the sliced onions. Fry it till the color changes to golden brown. Add the marinated chicken, stir and cook until chicken is well cooked and oil starts to separate from the spice mixture. Once it is done set it aside.

5. Next step, preparing the rice: Wash and soak the rice in water for 10 minutes. Take a small piece of cloth, then put cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorn in it and tie a knot. 

6. Now take a deep bottomed pan, add enough water ( 7 cups ), add the tied cloth, add salt and bay leaves. Once water starts boiling, add the rice. Cook it until rice is 80 % done. Drain away the extra water and spread the rice on a flat surface. 

7. Take a small bowl, add the milk and saffron strands. Mix well and let it rest for a couple of minutes. 

8. Layering or final cooking:  Stove-top method: Take a large heavy bottom pan with the lid. Add 2-3 tablespoons ghee ( melted ) to the pan. Spread it nicely and add a layer of rice ( using half of the rice). Then add the cooked chicken, potatoes, eggs. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Biryani Masala and ghee. Now again add a layer of rice and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Add the saffron milk and kewra essence and rose essence. 

9. Put the lid on, seal it with flour dough and let it cook over lowest possible heat. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Make sure the pan is heavy bottomed and keep the flame lowest so that the rice does not get burnt on the bottom of the pan.

Oven Method: You can use the oven instead of stove top for final cooking. For that process, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C and take an oven-safe dish. Add 2-3 tablespoons ghee ( melted ) to the pan. Spread it nicely and add a layer of rice ( using half of the rice). Then add the cooked chicken, potatoes, eggs. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Biryani Masala and ghee. Now again add a layer of rice and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Add the saffron milk and kewra essence and rose essence. cover it tightly with aluminum foil and let it cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

 10. Switch off the gas, or oven. Let the dish covered for again 10 to 15 minutes on the kitchen counter top, then mix the rice and chicken gently together. Transfer it to a serving plate and serve with salad.

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Short Cut way of making Chicken Biryani 

Ingredients : 

Chicken: 2 lbs or 800 g, cut into big sizes 

Yogurt: 4 to 5 tablespoons 

Garlic paste: 2 tablespoons

Ginger paste: 1 tablespoon 

Biryani Masala: 1 1/2 tablespoons 

Red chili powder: 1 teaspoon 

Salt : 
Biryani Masala: preferably Shan 

Onion: 3 medium sized, thinly sliced 

Basmati rice: 3 cups 

Potato: 3 medium sized, boiled and cut into two halves 

Hard boiled egg: 3

Milk: 1/4 cup, warm

Saffron strands: few 

Oil: 4-5 tablespoons 

Ghee / clarified butter : 3-4 tablespoons 

Kewra essence: 2-3 drops ( use it to get authentic taste or flavor or you may skip it too)

Rose water: 1 teaspoon

Method:

1. Take a big pan, add oil and heat it up. Once the oil is ready, add the boiled halved potatoes and fry them till the color changes to golden brown. Once potatoes are done set it aside. In the same oil add the hard-boiled eggs and fry it till they have the brown spot on their surface. Take it out from the pan and keep it aside. 

2. In the same pan, add oil (if required) and add the sliced onions. Fry it till the color changes to golden brown. Add ginger and garlic paste, fry it until raw smell goes off. Add the chicken pieces, add 4 tablespoons of Biryani Masala. Stir and cook till the chicken changes the chicken pieces changes color from pink to brown. Add the yogurt and mix it well. Add salt and red chili powder. Stir and cook until chicken is well cooked and oil starts to separate from the spice mixture. Add the potato pieces to the chicken. Stir to mix, once it is done set it aside.

3. Next step, preparing the rice: Wash and soak the rice in water for 10 minutes. Take a deep bottomed pan, add enough water. Add salt and 2 tablespoons of Biryani Masala. Once water starts boiling, add the rice. Cook it until rice is 80 % done. Drain away the extra water and spread the rice on a flat surface. 

4. Take a small bowl, add the milk and saffron strands. Mix well and let it rest for a couple of minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 176 degrees C and take an oven-safe dish. Add 2-3 tablespoons ghee ( melted ) to the pan. Spread it nicely and add a layer of rice ( using half of the rice). Then add the cooked chicken, potatoes, eggs. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon ghee. Now again add a layer of rice and sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of ghee. Add the saffron milk and kewra essence and rose essence. cover it tightly with aluminum foil and let it cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

6. Switch off the oven. Let the dish covered for again 10 to 15 minutes on the kitchen counter top, then mix the rice and chicken gently together. Transfer it to a serving plate and serve with salad.

Related Recipes, you might also like :

• Prawn Biryani
• 
  
• Chicken Chaap

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