Saturday, April 23, 2011

Kancha Lonka Murgi, Green Chili Chicken Curry

This had to be documented as a blog post since so many of you have already liked it on Facebook. There is no childhood memory or a hand-me-down tale to be narrated today. It was the Poila Boishakh lunch pictures from Finely Chopped and my own greed which led to the re-creation of an experimental recipe which sure is for keeps.

IMG_1924 Ingredients for Kancha Lonka Murgi are:

6-8 medium size skinless chicken pieces, bone in
1 large red onion, finely chopped
8-10 green chilies, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon green chili paste
2 tablespoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 black cardamoms
2 bay
4-5 tablespoons mustard oil /use canola or vegetable if you don't have mustard
Salt

IMG_1914 Heat the oil until almost smoking and add the onions, bay and black cardamom to sauté till the onions are lightly browned. (I used a pressure pan to make this dish. You can use a thick-bottom pan or karahi / kodai to do so.)

IMG_1915 Now add the slit green chilies and mix well with the onions. Keep the heat on medium lest you burn the onions. Give the chilies about 4-5 minutes to release their deep zingy flavor.

IMG_1916 Add the cleaned chicken pieces and coat them well with the onions and chilies. Make sure you lightly brown the chicken on medium heat.

IMG_1917 Now add the wet and dry spices except the salt, cover and cook the chicken on medium heat. Scrape off any spices/masala which stick to the bottom of the pan. This should take about 10-12 minutes.

IMG_1918 You will notice the chicken and spices releasing oil at the sides of your pan/karahi, lower the heat and check if the chicken is done. Now add the salt and cover again for 8-10 minutes on low heat. Do a taste test and garnish with a couple of more green chilies. Take the Kancha Lonka Chicken off the heat. The dish should not have a runny gravy. In Bengali we say - makha makha. (Or is it makho makho?)

IMG_1919 Serve this chicken dish with ruti/chapati/phulka or parathas.

IMG_1920Kancha Lonka in Bengali means "green chilies" and Murgi is "chicken".

IMG_1923 That’s an absolutely stunning Kancha Lonka Murgi for you.

10 comments:

My Unfinished Life said...

will mail this post to hubby, he is now keen to cook inspired by my successful experiments in the kitchen and since i only make veggie stuff, he has taken upon himself to make all the non-veg recipes!!!

Kalyan Karmakar said...

I was really looking forward to this post Pree specially since your results looked even better than the original :)

Shanthi said...

WOW!!! looks so delicious .Sure going to try soon :-)

GB said...

Oye! Where are you babe? (abhi bhi hibernate kar rahi hai kya---news flash--winter is over!) Missed you. This looks wonderful, a little too lonka for me tho'.....

So i noticed that you're pretty regular with the FB page? Have you shifted headquarters? Maybe I should just keep track of you there.......

:D

Suman Singh said...

This looks so yummy and delicious!

Priya Suresh said...

Am drooling over that irresistible chicken curry,delicious:!

Soma said...

oh the fresh smell of knacha lonka. The perfect spring time chicken curry.

Sarah said...

Hi Pree, I made this wonderful dish. And posted about it in my blog. It was absolutely yummy.. I did make a few changes to your original recipe. I loved the idea of adding lots of green chillies and also of searing the meat before cooking :) Thanks for this wonderful dish :)

Seema said...

Hey Pree,

I made this recently and by public demand had to make it again within 2 days timeframe. It was yummilicious. I have posted it in my blog. Do take a look. I made a few modifications.

http://amchi-bong-konnexion.blogspot.com/2011/08/kancha-lonka-murgi-green-chilli-chicken.html

Thanks,
Seema
amchi-bong-konnexion.blogspot.com
seemabbas.blogspot.com

PreeOccupied said...

Oh great. Thanks for sharing, Seema.