Chicken Chaap
Chicken chaap is a rich, popular, and delicious dish from Bengal, India. It is a mildly spicy, creamy, mildly sour, and sweet gravy dish and belongs to Mughlai cuisine. Chicken leg pieces with thighs get marinated with cashew paste and blend of spices. Keep the chicken overnight in the fridge for marination to make it more tender and flavorful. This is a unique dish with a distinct flavor and thick gravy. This dish gets a bright orange color due to saffron milk and kashmiri red chili powder. If you want to eat rich, delicious, and less spicy Indian food, then this is a must-try dish. Follow my recipe step by step and make this lip smacking dish at home for your next weekend.
Similar main course recipes:
Chicken Chaap
Chicken chaap is an extremely delicious and popular dish from Bengal, India. This lip-smacking dish is rich, spicy, and aromatic. Marinated chicken gets slowly cooked in gravy, which makes the meat tender and juicy. It is a must-try recipe if you have never tasted this dish before.
Ingredients
- 3 chicken legs with thighs
For paste
- 12 chashews
- 1½ tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tbsp magaz seeds
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 12 garlic cloves
- 2 inch ginger
- 4-5 green chilies
- 1 cup curd
For marination
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tbsp sattu
- 1 tsp kewra water
- For masala powder
- ½ inch cinnamon
- 2-3 cloves
- 3 green cardamoms
- Small piece of mace
- Small piece of nutmeg
For gravy
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- ½ cup saffron soaked milk
- 1 tsp rose water
Instructions
- In a mixer jar, add cashews, poppy seeds, and magaz seeds. Grind them to make a fine powder. Now add 1 cup chopped onion, 12 garlic cloves, 2 inch ginger chopped, 4 green chilies, and 1 cup curd. Blend with cashew powder and make a smooth paste.
- Place 3 chicken legs with thighs in a mixing bowl. Add the onion cashews paste, 1 tsp white pepper powder, and 2 tsp kashmiri red chili powder. Then, add 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tbsp sattu, and 1 tsp kewra water.
- Mix everything well with the chicken and let it marinate for at least 4 hours.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee in a kadai on medium heat.
- Add the marinated chicken pieces one by one in a kadai.
- Fry the chicken for 5 min. and then turn it to the other side. Fry for another 5 min. Then add the re-maining marinade and mix well. Keep stirring and frying for 5 min.
- Use a mortar and pestle to grind ½ inch cinnamon, 3 cloves, 3 green cardamoms, a small piece of mace, and nutmeg. Make coarse powder and add it to a kadai; give it a good mix.
- Add saffron milk, 1 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp rose water. Mix well. Add 1 cup water and stir well. Cover the lid and cook for 20 min on low heat.
- Remove the lid and stir well. Turn the chicken pieces to the other side and cook for 10 min. Then cover with a lid and cook for 5-10 min. Turn off the heat.
- Serve hot chicken chaap with paratha, rumali roti, naan, or biryani.
Notes
- Whisk the curd to make it lump-free and smooth. You can also use greek yogurt.
- Make 3-4 slits in the chicken pieces before marinating.
- For even better taste, let the chicken marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Bring the marinated chicken to room temperature after removing it from the fridge.
- Add a pinch of saffron strand in ½ cup milk and keep it aside.
- Adjust the spices as per your taste.
- This recipe uses the slow cooking method; cook the chicken on a low heat.
Subscribe with us to get delicious recipes directly to your inbox:
