#champaran – Reetika Mitra https://reetikamitra.com Fooding Around Sat, 08 Nov 2025 04:14:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://reetikamitra.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-icon-32x32.png #champaran – Reetika Mitra https://reetikamitra.com 32 32 Champaran Chicken (The Bihari Meat Curry) https://reetikamitra.com/mainstays/champaran-chicken-the-bihari-meat-curry/ https://reetikamitra.com/mainstays/champaran-chicken-the-bihari-meat-curry/#comments Sat, 25 Oct 2025 06:39:14 +0000 https://reetikamitra.com/?p=7318 The Champaran recipe is a native of Bihar. The unique feature of this dish is the use of whole garlic. The recipe uses an assortment of fragrant spices which adds an unique flavour to the dish. The Champaran Mutton is the signature dish but here I will talk about the same recipe used to make a chicken curry. So if you are looking to get a taste of Bihar in your kitchen the Champaran is a recipe to zoom in on. The Champaran chicken is cooked over a medium-low flame in an earthen pot replicating the process used in the rural areas, giving this dish an authentic rustic feel. In a way this is the rural version of a one-pot dish that we are familiar with in the urban areas. The slow cooking allows the spices to soak into the meat and the mustard oil in which the dish is cooked further adds to the appeal. Ensure you are not in a hurry while cooking this dish. It will take an hour. One tip, I will suggest is to ensure that you seal the earthen pot well with a dough so that the steam doesn’t escape and the meat cooks well and blends with the spices.

 

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Champaran Chicken (The Bihari Meat Curry)

★★★★ 3.3 from 309 reviews
  • Author: Reetika Mitra
  • Prep Time: 20 Mins
  • Cook Time: 45 Mins
  • Total Time: 1 Hr 05 Mins
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Description

Rustic Appeal

Ingredients

  • 800 gms Chicken (bone-in chicken works best)
  • 1/3 cup Mustard Oil
  • 2 large Onions, finely chopped
  • 8–10 cloves of Garlic
  • 2–3 whole Garlic Pods (also called bulbs)
  • 3 –4 Dry Whole Chillies
  • 1 Tsp Red Chilli powder
  • 1 Tsp heaped, Kashmiri Red Chilli powder
  • 1 Tsp Turmeric powder
  • 2 Tsp Coriander powder
  • 3 Bay Leaves
  • 1 ½ inch Cinnamon, broken into half
  • 2 Black Cardamoms
  • 3–4 slit green Chillies
  • Salt to taste

 

Ingredients to be Dry Roasted :

 

  • 1 ½ Tbsp Coriander Seeds
  • 10–12 Black Peppercorns
  • 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
  • ½ Inch Cinnamon stick
  • 4 Green Cardamom
  • 4 Cloves
  • 1 Tsp Fennel Seeds
  • ½ Mace
  • ¼ Nutmeg
  • 1 Tbsp Chana Dal
  • 1 Tbsp Khus Khus (Poppy Seeds)

Instructions

  1. In a pan over medium-low flame, roast the spices mentioned under Dry Roast. Stir frequently and roast till the spices release an aroma and are lightly toasted (should take around 4-5 minutes. Make sure not to burn your spices, lower the flame if necessary.
  2. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, transfer the spices to a grinder or blender jar and blend to a fine powder.
  3. In a large pan or bowl add the chicken pieces along with all the ingredients other than the whole garlic pods. So, in goes chopped onions, dry whole red chillies, bay leaves, garlic cloves, cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms, red chilli powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, 1/2 of the mustard oil, slit green chilies, salt to taste.
  4. Next add 2 to 2 ½ tablespoons of the dry roasted spice powder as well. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly, making sure all the chicken pieces gets properly coated from all sides.
  5. If not in a hurry, it is best to keep aside the marinated chicken for about 20-30 mins. If in a hurry, you may skip this.
  6. Take an earthen pot or handi and add the remaining half of the mustard oil to it. Rotate the pot as much as possible, so that the oil runs across the inside wall of the earthen pot.
  7. Next transfer the chicken along with all the marination into the earthen pot or handi. Place the whole garlic cloves pods to the earthen pot.
  8. Cover with a lid and seal the edges of the pot with a dough, so that no steam can come out from the sides of the earthen pot while the Champaran chicken is being cooked.
  9. Cook on sim for 45-50 mins. Make sure to lower the flame to a Sim, once the handi (earthen pot) heats up to a boil. If possible, lift the pot and swirl it lightly to enable the chicken pieces to get tossed around inside the pot. This helps in even cooking. As the pot will be Hot, so do remember to use baking gloves or dusters for both your hands.
  10. Switch off the heat, let the pot cool down a bit, before you cut the dough to allow you to open the lid of the handi.
  11. Your Chicken Champaran is ready to be served. Goes best with steamed rice, though tastes equally great with all kinds of rotis, parathas and naan.

Notes

If you do not have mustard oil readily available at home, you may use any other oil instead. Though this preparation tastes unmatched using the mustard oil.

It is important to cook the Champaran chicken over low heat. This enables the meat to stay succulent and tender, while at the same time enables the flavours to seep in.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4
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