Shahi Murgh

Royal Chicken cooked in yogurt... doesn't that sound great? That was the description given by Madhur Jaffrey for Shahi Murgh in her book Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. This recipe is a slightly altered version of Shahi Murgh from Madhur Jaffrey's book. I love reading cook books and watching cookery shows. So I borrow a lot of cookbooks from the local library and this book is one of them. And not to mention, this particular recipe is a real quick one.

Oil                           - 3 tbsp
Cardamom                - 4
Cloves                      - 4
Cinnamon                 - 1" piece
Bay Leaves               - 2 small leaves
Salt                          - to taste
Black Pepper powder  - 1 tsp
Chicken                     - 1 lb
Yogurt                       - 1 cup
Chilly Powder             - 2 tsp
Coriander Powder      - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder           - 1 tsp
Coriander Leaves      - few twigs
Raisins                      - 1 tbsp
Almonds                   - 5-6 (blanched)
Ghee                        - 1/2 tsp

1. Marinate Chicken with 1/2 tsp of pepper powder and salt to taste.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom and Bay Leaves.
3. When smell of the spices starts coming, add the marinated chicken and let it cook.
4. In another bowl, mix yogurt, chilly powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, 1/2 tsp pepper powder and coriander leaves. Blend this into a smooth mixture.
5. When the chicken is almost cooked (should start to become light brown), reduce the flame to low and add the seasoned yogurt mixture and keep stirring.
6. Yogurt will start to loosen up. Increase the heat to medium at this point.
7. Continue cooking until the gravy thickens and starts clinging to the chicken. Turn off the heat at this point.
8. In a small pan, heat the ghee and add raisins and almonds and fry until the raisins are plump and almonds become slight brown.
9. Add this to the chicken to garnish. You could also sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves on top.

You could omit the raisins if you do not like those on a spicy dish. But I would say it gives a twist to the curry. This goes well with Rice and Roti. You could also make this with prawns. I make it with the cooked prawns which kind of help make the curry in a jiffy.