From My Mother's kitchen: Kacha Lonka Bata diye Murgir Jhol ( Chicken cooked with green chilli paste)

From My Mother's Kitchen 

Kacha Lonka Bata diye Murgir Jhol ( Chicken gravy  cooked with green chillis paste)

Just like fish is a staple food for all Bengalis, meat( chicken or mutton) is a luxury for us. We like to relish the flavors of the meat over a Sunday lazy lunch or any holiday (Chutir Din). 

Kacha Lonka Bata diye Murgir Jhol is a recipe from my mother's kitchen which I grew up relishing during most of the weekends of my childhood. My Mamoni(I call her by this name) prefers using less spices without compromising on the taste and this chicken curry is one of those recipes. 

Do try it once and you will fall in love with the taste. 

Recipe

Ingredients 

1 kg chicken( curry cut) 

2 medium sized potatoes cut into 4 pieces

1- 2 bay leaves 

2 green cardamom 

1 inch cinnamon stick

2-3 tablespoon mustard oil 

1 teaspoon turmeric powder 

Paste of 2 medium sized onion 

1 small onion finely chopped 

3 tablespoon ginger garlic paste 

Paste of one medium sized tomato 

Paste of 4-5 green chillies 

1 teaspoon garam masala powder( I make it at home by making a powder of green cardamom, black cardamom and cinnamon sticks. 

A pinch of sugar

Salt to taste 

How to cook

Marinate the chicken with onion, ginger- garlic, tomato and green chillies pastes along with turmeric powder, salt and 1 tablespoon mustard oil. Keep it aside for 2 hours. 

Next pour mustard oil in a wok and once it starts smoking add a pinch of sugar and let it caramelize( This process gives a good color to the gravy without adding chilli powder). Now add the bay leaf, cinnamon sticks and cardamom. Once the fragrance comes out, add the marinated chicken to it. Give it a good stir and let the masala fry well. Once the masala starts leaving oil, add good amount of water to the chicken and let it boil for good 15 minutes.  Check for water requirements as potatoes absorb more water.  Once the chicken gets cooked, adjust the salt and add the garam masala powder.  Turn off the gas and serve it hot with steamed rice and a slice of lemon.