You know Punjabi’s has given a lot of gifts to India. Punjab is known as the “rice bowl” of India. But the biggest gift was given by the Punjabi to India is Punjab’s national bird.

“KUKKAD” (CHICKEN)

😊😊😊

And there is a dish from the same national bird “Creamy Malai Chicken “. So, Punjabi creamy malai chicken is the most famous in Punjab. So, I thought let’s make that famous dish “Punjabi creamy malai chicken” only for you. And the recipe is amazing and very very simple.

Story About Creamy Malai Chicken Recipe

In 1960,” Late S. Attar Singh Chawla” visited Haldwani in Nainital and was cooking chicken for himself so at that time he thought let’s add milk in the chicken.

First Punjabi instinct I guess.

And when he added to milk the chicken and reduced and cooked. And Modified the recipe slightly. So, it is believed that it was first invented in Nainital for this “Malai Chicken” or “Creamy Chicken”. And then after “Malai Chicken” slowly came in Ludhiana, Chandigarh, and in today’s date, your meal is not completed without “malai chicken” if you are in Ludhiana.

So basically what started off as a small kitchen experiment turned into a legacy. So, that’s why I say, there’s nothing right or wrong. But people may find the cooking chicken in milk strange. I will feel bad about it. But today it’s a “Legacy”. Keep experimenting it’s good.

Steps For Making Creamy Malai Chicken Recipe At Home

Asha Dadwal

If some dish reminds me of Punjab then it Malai Chicken. Because there is a whole Punjab in the one-pot (patila) i.e. ghee (ghio), milk (dudh), and chicken (kukkad). So if you love Punjabi food then you must try this recipe once.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Total Time 35

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Calories 653 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

1 Kg Chicken
4 tbsp Ghee
2 Black Cardamon
2 Green Cardamon
½ tbsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Ginger (chopped)
½ tbsp Coriander Powder
3 Cup Milk
4 tbsp Almond Paste
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi
¼ tbsp Cardamon Powder

Instructions

In a hot pot (Kadai) add ghee, black cardamom, green cardamom, cumin seeds, and saute it.
Now add chicken, ginger, coriander powder, salt and sauté until chicken is tender.
Now add milk and keep stirring the chicken until milk is boiling.
As soon as the milk gets to boil immediately add almond paste. Now cover the pot with the lid and turn the flame low and keep on stirring at regular intervals.
Once the chicken is soft or cooked then add black pepper powder, cardamom powder and mix it.
Now you Creamy Malai Chicken is ready to serve.

Notes

Bringing the milk to a boil after adding almond paste ensures the milk won't curdle.
After bringing to a rolling boil with the almond paste let it cook on a low flame.
There are 2 important points why cook it on a low flame:

1. The Chicken absorbs all the flavor.
2. If you don't cook it on low flame then malai will stick to the bottom and it will turn into the khurchan. Then your malai chicken turns into chicken khurchan.

When you turn flame to low then keep on stirring on regular intervals and keep covering at regular intervals.

By seeing the dish appears to be rich, You thinking how people can eat this dish daily in Punjab. If you get chicken, milk, ghee, and almond together then once you can enjoy it every day.

Secondly, when you will actually consume it you will realize it’s not that heavy. But if you are eating one big pot of “Dal” with little vegetables and then you also want to include paneer then it’s another story. 😉😉😉

But just this and parantha

Heavy?

Not at all…

As the saying goes in Punjabi, what have saints got to do with the taste as long as there is ample of cream (malai). Saints have got nothing to do with the taste as long as there is ample cream (malai).

Also, try other Indian Main Course recipes: