Chicken and spice, and everything nice!

From the first of Ramadan, Star Lifestyle will present for its online readers one recipe a day that would be an ideal addition to your iftar/sehri dishes. From the secrets of the Mughal kitchen to the charm of Middle Eastern cuisine; from the culinary tricks of your grandma's magical hands, to the fusion cuisine that is all the rage these days, The Food Spread, hopes to be the golden key to Ramadan gastronomy.

Twist your taste buds with this mouthwatering recipe of chicken for a hearty meal on Iftar. This subtly spiced protein is great with plain white bastami rice, oven fresh bread, or paratas.

Chicken makhani

1 large chicken

1tbsp lemon juice

1tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

Salt to taste

 

For marination -

1 cup yoghurt

1 two-inch piece of ginger

5-6 cloves of garlic

1tsp Kashmiri red chilli8 powder

Salt to taste

1tbsp lemon juice

½ tsp garam masala powder

2tbsp mustard oil

2tbsp butter (for basting) 

For makhani gravy -

1 two-inch piece of ginger

10-12 cloves of garlic

2-4 green chillies

50gm butter

1tbsp whole gram masala

400gm tomato puree

1tbsp red chilli powder

2tbsp garlic paste

½ tsp garam masala powder

2tbsp sugar/honey

½ tsp fenugreek leaves

Salt to taste 

 

METHOD

 

Skin, clean and wash the chicken. With a sharp knife, make incisions on breast and leg pieces.

Apply a mixture of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken and leave aside for half an hour.

To prepare the marinade, hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for 15-20 minutes to remove water. Add red chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil to the yogurt. Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

Put the chicken on to a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or pre heated oven (200 degree C) for 10 to12 minutes or until almost done. Baste it with butter and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside.

For gravy, heat butter in a pan and add the whole garam masala. Let it crackle. Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chilli. Cook for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and one cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add marinated gravy. Add sugar or honey and powdered fenugreek leaves.

Add cooked tandoori chicken pieces. Simmer for five minutes then add fresh cream.

Serve hot with naan or paratha.