Rich and Slow Cooked Chicken Curry – Moorgir Makha Jhol
This recipe for a slow cooked chicken curry often features on my table when I want a pick me up. The ingredients in this is few. There is a generous amount of onion. This is what gives the sauce a natural sweetness and thick flavorful taste. In Bengali I call this Moorgir Makha Jhol. The term makha in Bengali means mixed. It also in the culinary context refers to a thick sauce. Festive sauces are thicker for us Bengalis while everyday curries and sauces are on the thinner side. I sometimes cheat and make this in the instant pot, so you have a version for that as well.
This is perfect for a handful of friends who are getting together for a relaxed and quite meal. I developed this on an ambitious evening for some impromptu guests. It is festive, but can be done with pantry staples and ingredients on hand. However, it needs a little extra sauteing and a little extra oil. The result is delicious. Of it is that small bit of patience that produces something memorable.
The magic of this dish, is fresh whole spices, that softly work with the onions to release deep flavor. The term makha, literally means to mesh or meld and in the context of Bengali cuisine.
The best cohort for this curry would be luchi. But in a pinch basmati rice works well too. Created originally for Anju. This has seen many lovely evenings. By the way, making a batch of this for someone special as a gift is also a good idea.
Ironically enough, it is dishes like this that should touch the menu tablets of Indian restaurants, so that people can enjoy and realize there is so much more to the Indian table beyond a Chicken Tikka Masala, a dish that we hate to love because of its monotony. As I ponder about this, I cannot help thinking that Bengali cooking would make the perfect posterchild for the Slow Food movement. At core, it is an unhurried cuisine, where a great depth of flavor and richness is achieved by gentle cooking on low flames, there is also an inherrent commitment to sustainability just throught the sheer economics of peoples lives and situations.
A thick rich tasting chicken curry with fragrant fresh spices, tomatoes, green chilies and cilantro.
Ingredients
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 2-3 green serrano chillies
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 bunch (about 1 cup) cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus extra to garnish
- 4-5 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 dried red chili
- 2-3 cardamoms
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 large piece cinnamon
- 2 lbs skinned chicken (I would recommend dark meat on the bone, such as chicken drumsticks)
- Salt to taste
- Extra cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- Grind the garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies, tomato and cilantro into a relative smooth puree.
- Heat the oil and add the whole cumin seeds, dried red chili, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon cook lightly. Add in the tomato puree and cook for a good 15 minutes, stirring as needed until the mixture is fairly dry and begining to get fried.
- Add water if needed to let the mixture get well browned but not burnt.
- Add in the chicken and salt and continue cooking on medium heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken should be brown and well coated with the spice mixture.
- Stir in about 1 cup water simmer the chicken for about 10 minutes. The chicken should be nice and soft and there should be a good thick sauce.
- Garnish with the cilantro.
Notes
Instant Pot Version
Grind the garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies, tomato and cilantro into a relative smooth puree. Turn the instant pot on to saute mode. Add in the oil and add the whole cumin seeds, dried red chili, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon cook lightly. Add in the tomato puree and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring as needed until the mixture is fairly dry and begining to get fried. Add water if needed to let the mixture get well browned but not burnt. Add in the chicken and salt and continue cooking on medium heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken should be brown and well coated with the spice mixture. Stir in about 1 cup water and deglaze the pot well. Set to 2 minutes of high pressure.Release after 5 minutes and then turn on the saute mode to thicken the sauce. The chicken should be nice and soft and there should be a good thick sauce. Garnish with the cilantro.