CHICKEN REZALA

Rezala is basically found in and around Kolkata. The recipe hails from Awadhi cuisine. It has exotic flavours of ghee, curd, garam masala and kewra water. The aroma of this dish makes you fall in love with it. I had this dish for the first time when my Mashi cooked it for us on Bhai fota. This is an easy dish which you can make during any of the festivals. Its Sunday and Baba bought the chicken as usual. I was not in a mood to eat simple chicken curry. I opened my fridge and found some yogurt and finally ended up making a rezala.

CHICKEN REZALA

What you need?

• Chicken 1 kg
• Yogurt 200 gm
• Onion paste 2 tsp
  
• Ginger Garlic paste 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Kashmiri lal mirch 1 tsp
• Ghee 2 tbsp
• Oil 1 tbsp
• Cloves 4-5
• Green cardamom 4-5
• Cinnamon stick 1 inch
• Black peppercorns 8-10
• Bay leaves 2
• Cashew nuts( soaked in water) 10-12
• Poppy seeds 2 tbsp
• Coriander powder 2 tsp
• Kewra water 2 tsp
• Sugar to taste

How to make it?

• Whisk the yogurt, onion paste, ginger garlic paste, salt and Kashmiri lal mirch together. Add the chicken to this mixture. Marinate the chicken for at least one hour.
• Prepare a paste of cashew nuts and poppy seeds.
• After one hour, heat oil and ghee together in a pan.
• Add the garam masalas( cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and black peppercorns). 
• Add the marinated chicken and cover the pan with a lid. Let the chicken cook for 20-30 minutes.
• Add the cashew-poppy seed paste in the chicken, along with the coriander powder and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes again.
• In the end, add sugar and salt according to the taste and finish is with the kewra essence.

P.S:

• If you want to use less poppy seeds, then you can use it with Char magaz which helps in thickening the gravy.
• You can also use dried red chilies if you like the chicken really hot.
• Have this delicious chicken rezala along with naan, biryani or even butter toast.