Avadhi Flavour in Ramadan: Murg Musallam

In Ramadan iftar menus are generally a lavish spread where all people irrespective of their social strata come and eat together. In Indian cuisine Avadh has always been associated with richness and lavishness. It has a lot to do with the fact that nawabs in India were really extravagant in their food. Dry fruits were used in abundance and presentation was always a notch above the rest. One avadhi dish that I had always admired was 'Murg Musallam' , a rich preparation of whole chicken. Some traditional chefs will say that it involves a whole chicken stuffed with a small quail which in turn has a boiled egg inside it!!! I prepared a simple version which was stuffed with lamb mince and boiled eggs. The gravy is a thick one preapred with lots of almonds and cashew nuts so you can understand why it's a 'nawabi dish'.

I tried my hand at it and paired it with some Afghani style pulao so let's start with the steps.

Murg Musallam: A true 'nawabi dish' with rich aroma and gravy that will just leave you amazed. It tastes better when prepared over charcoal but you won't feel the difference at home. Let's get started.

Ingredients: Chicken ( de-skinned) - 1 whole; lamb mince - 100 gms; Onions ( finely chopped) - 2 + 1 medium; Gigner garlic paste - 2 table spoons; Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) - 1/4 cup; Mint leaves ( finely chopped) - 1/4 cup; Red chilli powder - 2 tea spoons; Garam masala - 1/4 tsp + 1 tsp; Eggs ( boiled) - 3; Almonds ( soaked and peeled) - 20 + Cashew nuts - 10 ( make a paste of them); Turmeric powder - 1 tsp; Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp; Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp; Tomato ( grated and skin separated) - 2 medium; Yoghurt ( well beaten)- 1 cup; Black-pepper ( crushed) - 5; Oil - 1.3 cup; Salt to taste

Steps( Stuffed Chicken)

i. Take a pan and heat 1.5 table spoons of oil in it.

ii. Add the 2 chopped onions into the oil and saute them well.

iii. Once the onions get a bit golden brown add the ginger garlic paste and chopped mint and coriander.

iv. Saute them until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away; now add the minced lamb and 1/4 tsp of garam masala.

v. Mix them well for 5 minutes so that the lamb is well seared. No add the whole eggs into the mixture and let it cool.

vi. Take the whole chicken and make gashes on all sides so that the flavors are more prominent. For extra richness you can brine your chicken a day earlier and use that.

vii. Marinate the chicken by rubbing salt and red chili powder ( 1/2 tsp) on the skin and stuff the mince meat and eggs into it. Plug the whole stuffings with an egg and tie the legs with a cotton thread. You can see various ways to truss a chicken online.

Steps ( Gravy)

i. Take a deep bottom pan and add the remaining oil into it.

ii.Once oil is hot add the remaining chopped onions and saute them well.

iii. After 2 minutes add the ginger garlic paste ( 1 tbsp) and mix well until the raw smell of ginger garlic goes away.

iv. Now add the grated tomatoes and the dry spices except crushed black pepper.

v. Mix well until the oil starts to separate.

vi. Add the almond and cashew nuts paste and mix well for 3 minutes.

vii. Now add the yoghurt and stir the mixture for 5 minutes.Add water if required, normally the gravy is kept thick in this recipe.

viii. Place the stuffed chicken ( breast side down) into the pan.

ix. Pour gravy on the top and rotate the chicken in the pan.

x. Keep the flame at medium and put the lid on the pan.

xi. Every 5 minutes rotate the chicken so that it doesn't burn from the bottom. Pour gravy on the top.

xii. After 25 minutes flip the chicken and continue cooking as in step xi for 10 more minutes.

xiii. After 35 minutes or so remove the lid and flip the chicken back.

xiv. Keep on rotating every couple of minutes without the lid on; this is to thicken the gravy by evaporating excess water and you are done.

Serve the murg musallam with some rich afghani pulao and raita and enjoy :)

Afghani Style Pulao: This is a sweet pulao with very few spices and goes well with the richness of the murg musallam. Ideally pairing of any 2 dishes should be such that they contrast each other which happens here pretty well.

Ingredients: Basmati rice ( soaked for min 30 minutes and drained) - 1.5 cup; Onions ( thinly sliced) - 1 medium;Caraway seeds - 2tsp; Cinnamon stick - 2 inch; sugar - 1 tsp; raisins - 1/4 cup; carrot ( julienne) - 1 medium; saffron water - 10 ml; ghee - 2tbsp; Water - 2.5 cups; salt to taste.

Steps:

i. Take a wide bottom pan and add ghee into it.

ii. Once it melts add the onions, caraway seeds and cinnamon stick into it. Saute them well until the onions are translucent. Now add the carrot julienne and saute for 2 minutes.

iii. After this add water into the pan along with sugar and salt. Mix well.

iv. Let the water come to a boil and then add the rice. Spread them well but don't overdo it as you don't want to break the rice grains.

v. Cover them with a lid and cook for 5 minutes until you cannot see any water on the top.

vi. Pour the saffron water on top and mix gently so hat the grains at the bottom come up.

vii. Reduce the flame to low and place the lid. Cook for 3 minutes and then turn off the gas. Let it rest for 5 minutes and you will have some of the best basmati rice ever tasted :)

Serve it with murg musallam and enjoy.