No one can describe the feel and the flavors of this magnificent dish until you have tried it once. Being a die-hard fan of chicken cuisine I finally got a chance to taste it and share its flavor through this write-up. If you’re an avid food lover and want to try the authentic cuisine from the era of the royal empire then Murgh Musallam recipe should be at the top of your menu.
Trust me, its taste made me so eager to know about its roots, history, and invention. I feel glad to share what I have got about this splendid fusion.
What Does Murgh Musallam Mean?
Murgh Musallam means whole chicken. It is an invention from the Mughal era and is known as a Mughlai dish. It is prepared by marinating a whole chicken with minced eggs and coated with spices and curd.
It is an Indian Subcontinent cuisine which is served hot in the main course. Mostly, Murgh Musallam recipe is cooked with oil or ghee under the ‘dum’ which is burned coal.
Having the roots of the royal indulgence it can be cooked dry or in sauce, later finishing it with some dry fruits.
Finding the Roots of Murg Musallam
Murgh Musallam is one of the most preferred Mughlai cuisines that you can find on the list of chicken dishes. It is known as the fusion of Persian food made with Indian Ingredients.
Ibn Battuta mentioned this dish as one of the favorite cuisines of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. Also, It was used to serve on the Delhi Sultanate table.
This Mughlai dish is known to be a descendant of the Musamman described in Ain-i-Akbari, a document that depicts the Akbar empire administration.
The Modern Twist
It is found that there are myriads of Murgh Musallam recipe present in India. Many prominent chefs and families cook this delicious chicken in its traditional way of Mughals. Marinating the chicken with authentic spices and stuffing it with eggs.
Traditional Awadhi food ardent tries the Murgh Musallam recipe with stuffing the chicken with nuts and khoya.
Steps For Making Murgh Musallam At Home
Equipment
- Large pan
- Large Pot
Ingredients
For Marination
- 800-900 gm Whole Chicken (cleaned)
- 2 tbsp Lemon
- 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 2 tbsp Hung Curd
- 1 tbsp Green Chili Paste
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tbsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tbsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tbsp Red Chili Powder
- ¼ tbsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt To Taste
For Stuffing
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 Medium Onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 150 gm Chicken Mince
- ½ tsp Red Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves (chopped)
- Salt To Taste
- 2-3 Boiled Eggs
For Gravy
- ½ Cup Ghee
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2-3 Green Cardamom
- 1-2 tbsp Cumin (Shahi Jeera)
- 2 Medium Onions (fined chopped)
- 2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- ½ tbsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ tbsp Red Chili Powder
- ½ tbsp Coriander Powder
- ½ tbsp Garam Masala Powder
- 2 Medium Tomatoes (fined chopped)
- ½ Cup Roasted Almonds & Cashews Paste
- 1 Cup Beaten Yoghurt
- Salt To Taste
- Water (as required)
Instructions
For Marination
- Take a whole chicken and make gashes on it.
- In a bowl add all marination ingredient that mentions above and mix it. Make a thick paste.
- Now apply marination on the chicken and keep it in the fridge for minimum one-hour marination.
- After marination shallow fries your chicken from all sides. In this step, we cooked chicken for outside approx 30% and other cooked in gravy.
For Stuffing
- In a pan add oil, onion, salt, and saute the onion till they are slightly colored.
- Now add ginger garlic paste and cook till their raw flavor gone.
- Add coriander leaves and saute it. Now add chicken minces, red chili powder, garam masala powder and cook it.
- Now stuff this stuffing with boiled egg into fried chicken and tie the chicken legs with the help of thread. And keep it aside.
For Gravy
- In a pot add ghee, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, green cardamom, cumin (shahi jeera), and saute it.
- Add onion, salt, and saute the onion till they are slightly colored.
- Now add ginger garlic paste and cook till their raw flavor gone.
- Then add red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and give a quick stir.
- Add tomatoes and cook it till tomatoes are totally mashed up.
- Now add beaten yogurt and continuously stir until it's a boil.
- Now when it releases the oil then add roasted almond & cashew paste and stir it for a minute.
- Take the chicken with the breast towards facing down and put the chicken into the pot. And Water as required.
- Now cook it on the low flame for approx 30 minutes or till chicken cooked.
Technique
- Now for mix the gravy we need to rotate the chicken for clockwise or anti-clockwise.
- We can't do that rotation continually for 30 minutes so we are going to put the lid on and every three minutes just open the lid and rotate it.
- This chicken cooks on a slow flame for about 20 minutes from the breast side and then turn the chicken upside and then cook for another 10 minutes.
- Another thing that we are going to do is just take the gravy and pour it on top.
Notes
- Make gashes on chicken so it will easily cook and all the spices will go to the inside.
- Take a small size of chicken because it will easily cook.
- The vessel you used it should be sufficiently large from the chicken so it will easily cook.
- You will also use Chironji paste to replace almond and cashew paste.
Also, try other Indian main course recipes: