Cardamom Flavored Chicken Elaichi Murgh Recipes

Steps:

• Mix the yogurt with the cornstarch and set to one side. Cut each of the chicken breasts into 3 or 4 chunky pieces.
• Lightly crush the cardamom pods so that the green husks split open, then remove the little brownish-black seeds from inside. Grind these into a fine powder with a pestle and mortar.
• Heat the oil and butter in a flameproof casserole dish, add the chicken and cook over a medium heat until lightly browned all over. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, coriander and ground cardamom seeds and cook for a further minute.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the broth, grated ginger, lemon juice and the yogurt mixture. Return the pan to the heat, bring to a simmer and leave to cook gently for 15 minutes until the chicken is tender. (You can now set the dish aside until later if you wish).
• Mix the cream with the ground almonds, stir into the chicken and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste and serve, garnished with sprigs of cilantro.

Steps:

• Pop the joint on each leg: Grasp a drumstick in one hand and a thigh in the other, and bend the joint back until you hear a crack. This helps the leg cook more evenly.
• Using a small knife, make a slash in the meaty part of each drumstick and thigh twice or three times, going all the way to the bone.
• In a large bowl, stir together garlic, ginger, vinegar, cayenne, garam masala and salt. Keep half the mixture in the bowl and set aside; rub remaining mixture all over chicken, getting underneath the skin. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours) while you prepare the yogurt marinade.
• Stir yogurt into the large bowl with ginger-garlic mixture, then stir in black pepper, clove, mace, anise, black cardamom (if using) and green cardamom. Transfer spice-rubbed chicken to yogurt mixture, tossing gently to coat.
• Cover and refrigerate chicken for at least 6 hours, and preferably overnight.
• When ready to cook, prepare the grill for indirect heat. (If using a charcoal grill, mound coals to one side, allowing for an area of indirect heat. If using a gas grill, turn on only a few of the burners and leave the rest off.) Or heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Using a mortar and pestle, the flat side of a knife or a spice grinder for a very brief time, crack the cumin, coriander and red-pepper flakes but do not grind; you want a coarse texture here. Sprinkle spice mix onto chicken to coat each piece.
• Place a rimmed baking sheet on the unlit side of the grill or in the oven and let heat for 15 minutes. Carefully place chicken on the hot baking sheet and drizzle each piece with a little melted butter. Cover grill, if grilling. Let chicken cook for 25 to 35 minutes, drizzling with melted butter two or three times. The chicken is done when the skin is dark brown and the juices run clear when pricked with a knife.
• If you are grilling, you can sear the chicken over direct heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side just before serving to char the skin, but this is optional. Serve chicken on a platter, with lime wedges on the side.

Steps:

• Put the whole peppercorns, cardamom seeds and cumin in a spice mill and grind them into a fine powder. You can also do this with a mortar and pestle.
• Put the water in a blender along with the salt, ginger, garlic, cayenne, vinegar and ground spices.
• Blend to a smooth paste.
• Put the yogurt in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken.
• Stir in the spice paste.
• Add the chicken and make sure all pieces are covered in the marinade.
• Break the cinnamon stick in two and tuck it in with the chicken.
• Cover and marinate for at least two hours and as much as overnight.
• Set the oven to 220 C or 425°F.
• Bake the chicken in a shallow dish for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
• The yogurt should have formed a dark brown crust.
• Sprinkle with mint leaves.

Steps:

• Place the garlic, ginger, chillies and coriander stalks in the small bowl of a food processor with a good pinch of salt, and blend to a fine paste - or grind to a paste using a pestle and mortar.
• Heat 2 tbsp of the ghee or oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook slowly for 15-20 mins until golden and caramelised. Tip in the garlic-ginger paste, turn up the heat and cook for a further 5 mins. Add the ground spices and cook for 2 mins more until fragrant. Scoop the spicy onion mixture out of the pan into a bowl.
• Add the remaining ghee or oil to the pan and cook the chicken over a medium-high heat until browned all over. Tip into a bowl, cover and set aside.
• Return the onion mixture to the pan along with the whole spices, tomatoes and a can full of water (400ml). Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for 40 mins.
• Return the chicken to the pan and cook, uncovered, for a further 10 mins until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the yogurt and cream, season well and scatter with coriander leaves. Serve with chapatis and rice.

Steps:

• Heat the oil, and lightly fry all but a pinch of the cardamom powder.
• Add the chicken and salt and stir until the meat is seared on all sides.
• Add the spices and tomato puree and mix well.
• Mix the yoghurt with 150ml water, mix and stir into the chicken, Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is tender.
• Serve hot over rice with the remaining pinch of cardamom powder sprinkled over.