Spicy Dry Chicken - Kosha Murgir Mangsho

This may just be the tastiest chicken dish I’ve ever cooked. Yes, this is high praise, even if I’m saying it myself. Kosha is a semi-dry curry, where the chicken is cooked slowly with the spices over a long period of time. I consider this manual slow cooking. While labor intensive, the final product is worth the effort. Trust me.

Ingredients

• Chicken 100 grams. A whole chicken cut up into 8-10 pieces will work gret
• 1/2 cup mustard oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 4-6 dried red chilies
• 4 whole green cardamom
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 cups chopped/sliced onions
• 2 medium onions for paste
• 4 cloves of garlic for paste
• 1 one inch stick of ginger for paste
• 4 tomatoes, chopped (or an 16 ounce can of chopped tomatoes will do)
• 2 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
• 1 tsp garam masalla
• 1-2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

1. Heat the mustard oil in a deep wok or saucepan over medium/medium-high heat
2. When hot, add the cardamom pods, bay leaves, dried red chili, and then sugar and stir for a minute
3. Add the sliced/chopped onions and saute until they are golden and caramelized
4. Meanwhile blend garlic, ginger, and onion to make a paste and add it to the caramelized onions
5. Saute 3-4 minutes and then add in the chicken
6. Stir the chicken in the oil for 2 minutes until the chicken is uniformly coated with the spices
7. Add the turmeric powder and saute an additional 5-6 minutes
8. Add salt and stir
9. Keep sauteing until the chicken surface or the skin starts turning a bit brown
10. Now add the coriander powder, red chili powder, and cumin powder. Stir in the spices well and saute for 2-3 minutes
11. Add the chopped tomatoes and further saute for 5-8 minutes
12. Keep frying until the tomatoes are completely incorporated. If the spices start sticking to the pot, add a tablespoon of water or more to deglaze but keep in mind as to keep the dish just moist and not waterlogged.
13. Add the garam masala powder and saute for further 2 minutes
14. Remove from flame, garnish with cilantro and cover the chicken.
15. Serve warm with paratha, ruti, or plain white rice.