Anda Murg Masala

Anda Murg Masala (Egg-Chicken Curry):

The chicken pieces floating in flavorsome gravy prepared from yogurt with a blend of spices adds a new dimension to this meal experience. Though there are endless variations to make a chicken curry, my recipe is prepared with some basic ingredients with a slightly different technique. The blending of all spices with curd offsets the spicy flavor of the curry and thus making this dish it’s unique, subtly sweet, warm and yet spicy.

Ingredients:

Marinate:

·         Chicken: ½ kg (washed and cut into medium sized pieces)

·         Curd: ½ cup

·         Red chilli powder (adjust to suit your spice level): 1 tsp

·         Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp

·         Dhania powder: 1 tsp

·         Kashmiri Red Powder: 1-2 tsp

·         Salt to taste

·         Sugar: 1 tsp (Bengali Twist)

·         Mustard Oil: 5-6 tsp (Bengali Twist)

·         Vinegar: 1-2 tsp

·         Chicken masala powder: 2 tsp

Other ingredients:

·         Cinnamon: 1-2 pieces

·         Cloves: 4-5 pieces

·         Bay leaves: 2-3

·         Cardamom: 2-3 pieces

·         Black Pepper: 4-5 pieces

·         Refined Oil: 7-8 tsp

·         Onions finely chopped: 2 Nos

·         Tomato finely chopped: 1 large

·         Potatoes (cut into dice): 2 medium sized (Bengali Twist)

·         Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp

·         Cumin Seeds: ¼ tsp

·         Eggs (hard boiled): 2 Nos

Method:

·         Marinate chicken pieces with all the ingredients mentioned under “marinate” for 2-3 hrs.

·     In a pan, add mustard oil and allow it to heat. Add diced potatoes, a pinch of salt, turmeric and  Kashmiri mirch powder and fry them till the potatoes turn golden brown.

·      In a cooking vessel, heat it and add refined oil. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves and black pepper. When the spices splinters, add chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic-ginger paste to it and sauté till onions turn golden pinkish and the masalas start leaving oil.

·         To this add the marinated chicken pieces and keep on stirring it till the gravy becomes almost dry (This is called” kosha” in Bengali”). Do this on medium flame.

·      After constant stirring for around 25-30 mins, put 2-3 cups of water and add the fried potatoes to it. Cover it.

·        Allow it to cook for 10-15 mins, till the chicken pieces and potatoes are fully cooked.

·         Garnish with pieces of hard boiled eggs.