Chicken Rezala

Instructions

1. Soak the poppy seeds and the cashew nuts in warm water for 10 -15 mins. Grind them to a fine paste using the mixer grinder or the mortar and pestle.
2. To prepare the Barista, deep fry the sliced in hot oil till they turn golden brown and crisp. Drain over kitchen paper towels.
3. For the Spice Mix powder, simply transfer all the whole spices to a grinder jar and grind them to a fine powder. You may use the mortar and pestle too.
4. For the Marinade together 4 tbsp yoghurt, garlic paste, ginger paste, salt and 1 tbsp lime juice.
5. Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces and transfer them to a bowl. Pour over the marinade over the chicken pieces. Gently rub and massage the chicken with the marinade. Make sure all the chicken pieces are well covered and uniformly coated with the marinade. Cover with a cling film and let it rest in the refrigerate for a good 4 hours. It’s even better and desirable if you can keep the chicken to marinate over night, that is 8 hours.
6. Heat the 2 tbsp ghee and 2 tbsp oil in a deep bottom pan over medium heat. Add the whole spices mentioned that is bay leaf, dry red chillies, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, star anise,  white peppercorns, black peppercorns and mace.
7. Shake off the excess marinade from the marinated chicken pieces and add them to the pan. Saute the chicken pieces till no more water is released and are light golden in colour. This should take around 5 -6 mins as it is normal for some water to be released due to the marination.
8. In the meantime whisk together the remaining marinade and the poppy seed – cashew nut paste. Mix them well together. Reduce flame to a low and add the mix to the pan over the chicken pieces. Add ½ cup onion paste as well. If the flame is high or even medium, there is a high chance the yoghurt might split.
9. Saute and simmer over low heat for 3 -4 mins stirring frequently till the colour of the yoghurt mixture changes from white to a creamish and starts to release a lovely aroma. The onion paste should also turn golden in colour.
10. Pour 1 cup of water and give it a good mix. Cover with a lid and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 mins or until the chicken is done and cooked well.
11. Now pour the soaked saffron – milk, barista and 1tbsp heap of the spice mix powder. You may store away the extra for later use. Stir, cover and sim for another 1 -2 mins.
12. Serve hot! Goes well with most Indian breads, rice or pulao.