Ushnish Ghosh, is one of them who not only cooks everyday home food in his Delhi kitchen for his SOMEONE (this would be boudi, his wife) but is also extremely knowledgeable about nuances of cooking and food matter. His years of expertise gives him the confidence to set me correct when I mistakenly call scallions "Penyaj Koli" and make other such frivolous mistakes.
I admire him for his eagerness to learn, his enthusiasm, his fondness for cooking and at the risk of later being chastised I would say if my daughters ever choose to marry a Bong male, I would secretly like it if they chose someone like UshnishDa. I mean he not only cooks delicious dishes but he has so much faith in his wife's driving that he relaxes and dozes off to sleep when boudi is driving.
This Roshun Murgi or chicken in garlic is inspired by his recipe. I followed his recipe largely, making changes suitable to me. Like I grilled the garlic heads, just because I was too lazy to peel them. The roasting gave them a more sweeter, concentrated flavor and dumbed down the garlicky smell a bit. Please use raw garlic if that is the path you choose to take.
I also went low on the oil and since I had small boneless pieces which I cooked for a longer time at low temperature it worked. Well, ahem, the red chili powder at the end, well please do use the whole amount if you like it hot, hot, hot. If you are chicken then go slow on it.
This garlicky Roshun Murgi is an awesome dish which goes very well as a starter. If you happen to make it with little more gravy than mine it can be served as a side dish to Roti and Pulao too.
Inspired by Original Recipe
Roshun Murgi -- Chicken in garlic
I started off with almost 2lb of skinless, boneless chicken thigh pieces.
Wash, clean and cut boneless, thigh pieces of chicken in small pieces. Marinate with1/4 cup thick yogurt,
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
salt
and 1 tsp mustard oil.
Make a paste of 2 whole heads of garlic. Now the garlic heads that I get here are quiet large and so I did not do two, instead I used 1 whole and 4 more cloves. Also I had grilled the garlic before makng the paste which gave a different flavor to the dish. You need not do that and use raw garlic like UshnishDa has done
Puree 2 large juicy tomatoes.
Heat 2 tbsp Oil. Add 1/2 tsp of sugar and caramelize the sugar.
Now add the garlic paste (about 3-4 tbsp heaped paste) and saute the paste for 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle water while frying. With roasted garlic paste, this step was quicker
Add half of the pureed tomato, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and fry the tomato till the raw color and smell is gone.
Now add the chicken pieces and fry the chicken at medium-high heat until the pieces are browned a little. Lower the heat, cover and cook, remove cover and stir and cover and cook again. The chicken will release lot of water, cook till the water dries up.
Now add rest of the pureed tomato along with 1 tbsp of Maggi Hot&Sweet Ketchup. Add salt to taste. Mix everything together and keep frying till you see the oil seeping out of the masala and chicken pieces. Once the chicken is done and the gravy is thick and clinging switch off heat.
Roast 4 red chili + 1/2 tsp PaanchPhoron. Cool and make a powder. Sprinkle this powder on the chicken and mix well