R E C I P E S

Chicken Rizala

By Michael Snyder
Photograph by Palash Bakshi

This is the Chicken Rizala described in “Bhopali Cuisine.”

1 chicken, about 1 to 1.5 kg (2 to 3 pounds)

100 gr (⅜ cup) canola or sunflower oil, plus 250 gr (1 cup) oil, and additional oil for cooking

250 gr onion, sliced

3 teaspoons ginger paste (fresh ginger, ground to a paste with a mortar and pestle)

3 teaspoons garlic paste (fresh garlic, crushed and mashed)

2 teaspoons coriander powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

salt

2 large handfuls fresh cilantro taken from the stems and roughly chopped

100 gr fresh, seeded whole green chiles

2 teaspoons white poppy seeds, soaked and finely ground into a paste

1 teaspoon garam masala

300 gr yogurt

4 eggs, hard-cooked and sliced in half lengthwise, for garnish

1 lemon, for garnish (Indian lemons, called nimbu, are milder and sweeter than the ones common in America and Europe. If you can find nimbu at an Indian market, or similar Peruvian limes at a Latino market, these are ideal. Otherwise, a small lime is the best choice.)

Chop the chicken into a dozen pieces, and mix with the oil.

To a deep pot, add roughly ½-inch depth of oil, then over a low flame deep-fry the onion until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, then set aside a little less than half the onion and reduce the rest to a paste in a food processor. Discard the oil.

Mix the ginger and garlic pastes with the coriander, turmeric, salt to taste, and a touch of water, until it becomes sticky. Heat the remaining 250 gr oil in the pot over medium-low heat, and lightly fry the spice paste until aromatic, no more than 30 seconds, then add a small amount of water to keep the spices from burning. Cook until the mixture is golden brown and pastelike, about 10 minutes. At this point the oil will have separated from the mixture and the water will have evaporated (this technique, called bhuno, both releases the aromas of the spices and flavors the oil).

Add the chicken pieces, mixing them thoroughly with the spice paste, and continue to cook until the chicken is almost but not quite done, 15 to 20 minutes.

To the pot with the spice-coated chicken, add the chopped cilantro and chiles, followed by the poppy seed paste, the fried onion paste, the garam masala, and the yogurt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the ingredients have come together in a thick, pale green gravy and the chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.

Garnish with the boiled eggs and slices of nimbu (or lime) and reserved fried onion. Best eaten with naan, roti, or rice. Serves 4 to 6.