Recipe: How to cook amazing ‘Gol Morich Murgi’!

Sundays are typically synonymous with ‘lyad’ and ‘mangsho-r jhol bhaat’ for all Bengalis! And I am no exception; I love every bit of this. Today is one Sunday when I am writing this, and I have had enough lyad throughout the day and I have had some amazing murgi-r jhol and bhaat in the afternoon! All in all, I am super satisfied right now 🙂 I am so satisfied, that I really want to sacrifice my afternoon cozy nap and want to share this lovely recipe with all my amazing readers! This recipe has also got one small history, nothing significant though. It was passed on to me officially by ‘The Stadel’ hotels in Saltlake area (Kolkata) nearly a year ago. Actually they shared two such lovely Bengali recipes and I had actually shared one with my readers soon after they shared, but the second one took a rather long time. That is purely because I was too caught up all these while and I was not getting enough time to cook the dish following the given recipe. And unless I cook and taste it myself I can’t ever share it with my readers. So sorry for this delay, but better late than never 🙂 And thanks Stadel for sharing this recipe, I have added some touches of mine to it in the hope to make it even better for my palate!

So here is the recipe of Pepper Chicken or what I lovingly call it – “Gol Morich Murgi”. And I am very happy since I have used amazingly fresh peppers which I brought back home from spice gardens at Munnar, Kerala.

By the way, guys if you are a non-Bengali reader you must have had tough time understanding the meaning of ‘lyad’ and ‘mangsho-r jhol bhaat’ which I mentioned in the beginning of my blog. Well, if you are a true fan of ‘Foodiedada’ then you need to please learn these terms 🙂 ‘Lyad’ is a crucial part of Bengali life, without it Bengalis might even lose their identity! It’s the art of fighting a world war in your head while actually doing nothing! It’s an amazing time independent process to relax your body and mind! Interesting, isn’t it? 🙂 And ‘mangsho-r jhol bhaat’ is the fuel that a relaxed brain needs after fighting that hyperlapse world war! Anyway, so let’s get back to the recipe where I have used potatoes because I am a mad fan of potatoes and a true Bengali, you can well omit them, but I would love potatoes any day in this dish if it’s served to me! And yes, please have it with fresh steamed rice, not with roti!

Here you go; this is the ingredients list (serves one person) –

Chicken – 200 gm

Mustard oil – 100 gm

Bay leaf – 1 pc

Chili powder – 10 gm

Potatoes – 1 number

Cardamom – 2 pc

Sugar – 5 gm

Onion (sliced) – 100 gm

Garlic paste – 5 gm

Ginger paste – 5 gm

Haldi powder – 5 gm

Cumin powder – 3 gm

Coriander powder – 3 gm

Garam masala – 2 gm

Salt – 5 gm (to taste)

Black pepper (crushed) – 2 gm.

Tomato paste – 25 gm

Coriander leaves – for garnishing

Cooking Method:

• Wash chicken and marinate with salt and turmeric powder.
• Cut the big potato into four halves (one vertical cut, one horizontal cut)
• Heat the oil , add whole garam masala and sugar, once cracked add sliced onion and fry for a while, and then add ginger, garlic paste and sauté it for another few seconds.
• Add the potato slices and continue frying.
• Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder and tomato paste, and fry for a while. Then add the marinated chicken, and continue frying.
• Now add cumin powder and coriander powder and salt and cook the chicken. Add some water and cook for a while again.
• Once the chicken is cooked finished it with powder garam masala and freshly crushed black pepper.
• Garnish it with some freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve it with warm steamed rice.

The end result is heavenly. The thin gravy of the chicken curry paired with the lovely aroma of the freshly crushed black pepper is sure to steal the show! It’s one wonderful homely dish that your guests will love. It is very light on your tummy and perfect for everyone.

You can adjust the spiciness by the amount of black pepper you are using. Have it with freshly prepared steamed rice and a slice of raw onion. Oh! My mouth is already watering again 🙂

Cheers!