Chicken Chaap. Large pieces of meat are marinated in an assortment of spices and a cashew & poppy seed paste, and they then sit to soak. Slow roasted in fresh ghee, this is one of my favorite chicken dishes from the East of India, Kolkata to be precise. Juicy, tasty, and oh so flavorful.
There are priceless gems I’ve collected over the years. And we are talking about recipes that have been eagerly written down, cooked, and devoured. When I get back and marvel at how good something has turned out, I always get a hug or big huge proud smile from the owner of the recipe. It requires a great love of food to share a recipe, precisely. It requires precision to get the recipe right, and a big heart to compliment the owner of the recipes. Thanks to my friend Surabi, who shared her mom in law’s famous chicken chaap recipe with me almost 18 years ago.
Chicken chaap is a Mughlai inspired dish. You can find this dish in most restaurants in Kolkata served in an oval platter with a light pulao or biryani. It’s without a doubt my second favorite dish of Kolkata, first being aloo posto.
Kolkata restaurant-style chicken chaap is loaded with ghee, as it should be. The masala is important, with the right amount of kewra, saffron, and oodles of ghee. Marination is long, and the cooking and sauteeing on medium heat is longer. If you want authentic tasting chicken chaap like what you get in restaurants, add Dalda. I prefer a delicate palette with the freshness of ghee and saffron with the masala; it might not taste as the restaurants would, but just better. Bengali chicken chaap at home will definitely taste and smell slightly different from Kolkata restaurant-style Chicken Chaap restaurant-style taste, but it’s equally good or better. Did I mention the ghee? Don’t miss that 🙂
- 2 Chicken legs, 2 chicken thighs, washed and dried
- 1 small Onion , ground to paste
- ¼ cup Hung Curd (Greek Yogurt) or 3 tbsp yogurt
- 3 tbsp besan , roasted
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, fresh
- 2 teaspoon Red Chilli powder, hot
- 1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
- ⅓ tsp Turmeric powder (Haldi)
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder(fresh if possible)
- 2 tablespoon Cashew paste
- 3 tablespoons Poppy seeds , soaked in warm water for 20 minutes and make a paste
- few strands of saffron
- 1 tsp sugar
- Kewra Water , 1 tsp
- 1 + 3tbsp of Ghee plus 2 bsp vegetable oil
- Salt , to taste
- 3 tbsp ghee + 2 tsp oil
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
- In a large mixing bowl, add onion paste, yogurt, roasted chickpea flour, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric powder,garam masala, paste of cashew and poppy seeds, saffron, kewra water, sugar, salt and 1 tbsp of ghee. Mix everything well. Add the chicken to it, mix really well and marinate in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours of overnight.
- In a large bottomed pan, add 3 tbsp of ghee and 3 tbsp of oil.. Let it get hot.
- Add the cumin, caraway seeds. Then toss in the marinated chicken with all the masala and slow roast it. Keep it on medium high heat and keep turning and stirring every few minutes and cook for 10 minutes. Then cover and let it cook for another 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and now again, saute it until everything is cooked and the curry is all dried up. If you want little curry, take it out a little earlier.
If you make this Kolkata Style Chicken Fry/Chicken Chaap,*Please do tag me on Instagram @foodfashionparty if you make this, using the hashtag #foodfashionparty. Check out my book MASALA AND MEATBALLS.
Stay in touch for more delicious food on Instagram and Pinterest. Follow on Snapchat (@ashfoodfashion) for daily doses of food.*
