Mughlai Chicken Curry Restaurant Style | Royal Chicken Curry Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 5 Servings
 
Ingredients
For marinating:
  • Chicken - 1 kg, skinless, curry cut
  • Salt - 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
  • Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
Other ingredients:
  • Onion - 4, large, thinly sliced
  • Ginger - 2 inch piece, peeled & cut into small pieces
  • Garlic - 8 to 10 cloves
  • Fresh green chilli - 4 to 5 or as per your taste
  • Raw almonds - 15 to 18, soaked and peeled
  • Sunflower or canola oil - ¼ cup
  • Cloves - 6 to 8
  • Green cardamom - 5 to 7
  • Cinnamon stick - 2 inch stick
  • Whole black peppercorn - 8 to 10
  • Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
  • Cumin powder - ½ tbsp
  • Garam masala - 1 tsp
  • Kewra /screw pine water - 1 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Fry the thinly sliced onion in warm oil until it turns golden brown. Then take them out using a slotted spoon draining the excess oil out and place them in a plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper.
  2. Wash the chicken pieces and drain out all the excess water. Take the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl and start marinating.
  3. To marinate the chicken, add salt, Kashmiri chilli powder and turmeric powder. Toss the chicken pieces so that the spices coat each piece evenly on all sides. Set it aside.
  4. Now in a blender jar, add fried onion, raw ginger pieces, garlic cloves, fresh green chillies and soaked & peeled almonds.
  5. First blend these ingredients without water to make a coarse mixture. Then add about half a cup of water and blend again to make a smooth paste without any lumps or coarse pieces. Set it aside until needed.
  6. Now heat a kadai or wok and add the oil to it. Once the oil is warm, temper it with green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon sticks and whole black peppercorn. Sauté it on low heat for a few seconds until they are fragrant.
  7. Then pour in the prepared onion mixture from the blender into the kadai and stir it into the oil. Continue cooking the mixture while stirring occasionally.
  8. It would take about 10 to 15 minutes to cook the mixture completely until it changes its color from a pale brown to a deep brown and oil starts to release from it. Be patient at this step, otherwise the flavors will not come out well.
  9. Once the mixture is nicely sautéed, add coriander powder, cumin aka jeera powder and garam masala. Stir to mix them with the onion mixture.
  10. Add ¼ cup of water to prevent the spices from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring and let the water evaporate, releasing the oil again.
  11. Now add the marinated chicken to the kadai. Stir them so that the prepared masala mixture coats each piece of chicken evenly on all sides. Be patient and carefully keep stirring the chicken.
  12. Continue to sauté the chicken in the masala until the chicken pieces turn golden brown and oil releases again from the chicken. This step will take some time; about 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat.
  13. Once oil is released, add about 1 to 1 & ½ cup of water, preferably warm, to the kadai. Season the mughlai chicken with salt to taste and give a stir to distribute salt evenly.
  14. Bring the gravy of mughlai chicken to boil. Then cover the wok with a lid and bring the flame to lowest. Let the chicken simmer for 15 to 20 minutes on low heat.
  15. Stir the chicken in between to ensure it is not sticking to the bottom of the kadai. Check the doneness of the chicken by cutting a piece using your stirring spatula.
  16. Once the chicken is completely cooked through and becomes tender & succulent, drizzle kewra water (aka screw pine water) over the wok. Give a good stir to mix it in.
  17. Check the consistency of the gravy; boil off some excess if it seems too thin. Check and adjust the seasoning too at this point.
  18. Your Mughlai chicken is ready to devour. Serve with butter naan or plain white rice and enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2023/09/mughlai-chicken-curry-restaurant-style/