Chicken Bhartha – Shredded Slow Cooked Chicken
Chicken Bhartha is a slow cooked rendition of chicken. A dish where the meat is cooked to a “fall off the bone” consistency. Essentially, it is a Bengali style Mughlai dish. That is code word for the fact that it was cooked in days where time is abundant. Now, there is that version and then there is my cheater version that tastes pretty darn good. There were no real leftovers from our Sunday family dinner, that my friends is very good, cheater fun good!
My Chicken Bharta Story
Spring has finally sprung, I am relishing these beautiful coolish days. I am back on the train track. It has just been a little tricky getting back to my original mode of productivity. As always, it is interesting getting to learn a new neighborhood.
In my dreams I shall be able to load and complete all the wonderful recipes that I have compiled, slowly but surely. That last month has been a truly delicious one. The next few weeks, promise to be hectic, but probably pretty and beautiful ones. There is a trip to St Louis, stuck in the middle of almost everything. We are planning a group trip riding in a bus no less.
I have embarked on a pantry rearranging project. It is amazing to see how much unnecessary dried items I have stock piled. It is good to be well prepared, but 6 pounds of besan or chickpea flour might be just a little bit too much. Interestingly enough, I have realized that clearing out a dried pantry is much harder than a fridge clearing exercise, at least will be in my case. I can only imagine my mother’s horror if she comes and takes a look at everything that I have piled. She is almost the opposite in her stocking and storing philosophy.
But, for today, we are ready for my cheater Chicken Bhartha. And in case you are looking for more to do with shredded chicken, here is another to ponder on, as for a good roast chicken, feel free to try anything that catches your fancy.
Other recipes along these lines include an Eggplant Bharta and Shredded Cilantro Lime Chicken.
A fragrant almost traditional way to use up leftover chicken.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup blanched almonds or cashews
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 3 tablespoons canola or grapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 medium sized onions, diced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked coarsely shredded chicken
- 1 teaspoon rosewater
- Chopped green chilies to garnish
Instructions
- Grind the almonds or cashew nuts with the yogurt and set aside. This needs to be done with care to ensure that it is smooth and creamy. Set this aside.
- Heat the oil and add in the cumin seeds, when they sizzle add in the onions and saute for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are softly wilted and turning golden brown.
- Add in the ginger and the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add in red cayenne pepper, garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt and stir well.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook the tomatoes until soft.
- Stir in the fenugreek leaves (you can leave a little for garnishing if you wish), and add in the chicken with 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for five minutes and stir in the ground yogurt nut paste and cook for another minute.
- Sprinkle with the rosewater.
- Garnish with the reserved fenugreek leaves and green chilies and serve with flatbreads.
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