For the love of Spice

Hello Lovely folks,

Some years back on a solitary birthday. I had eaten this dish called Rara Chicken curry from a Indo-Pakistani-Nepali Cuisine restaurant close to my home.

I was so wowed with the flavour and the technique - chicken Mince curry with chicken Tikka pieces.

Since then I have aspired to make it at home. But neither web search or youtube channels of even famous chefs had me satisfied with the recipe. Look I'm no chef but I love cooking, so reading a recipe gives me a fair idea of the final taste palatte it will yield. So the hunt continued. 

It took me 3 years of intermittent searching to land a recipe which seemed satisfactory. I ventured to test it on the basis of the spice mix mentioned, as it was different for the average spices used in most popular curries. 

I'm happy to say my hunch paid-off handsomely. The recipe turned out such a winner. 

Even if you arent fixated like me on Rara Chicken Curry, try it for the love of spices😉

My recipe combines the spice mix from the  web recipe (click here), the basic ingredients plus a few more and the method is solely mine. Hope you will like my Rara Chicken Curry. 

RECIPE:

Time Taken: 2 hours + overnight marination (worth it)

Yield: 5 to 6 servings

Method:

1) Marinate 300 gms chicken mince with salt and turmeric. 

2) Marinate 6 to 7 pieces of chicken boneless or thighs cut in half (we prefer thighs) with mustard oil, chilli pd and lime for half hour. 

3) Prepare marinate of - 3 tbsp youghurt, 1tbsp cream cheese, 1tsp ginger-garlic paste. 1tsp dhania pd, 1tsp jeera pd, 1/4 tsp turmeric pd, pinch of kala namak, salt as per taste and pinch of cardamom pd. Add chicken pieces, mix well and store in refrigerator overnight. Thaw meat to room temperature before cooking. 

4) Dry roast till fragrant the following spices - 1tsp jeera seeds, 3 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 5 peppercorns, 1 black cardamom, 1 stick cinnamon, 1/4 piece of nutmeg (or 1tsp nutmeg add after roasting), 1 mace, half bay leaf and 3 kashmiri chillies. Cool and grind to a semi fine powder. 

5) Finely chop 2 medium onions, 2 medium tomatoes. Keep 2-4 full green chillies.

6) Heat 2 tbsp of ghee (clarified butter) or butter. Add the chopped onion, and full green chilies. Saute till onions soften a bit and remove the green chilies out and keep it aside.

7) Add 1 heaped tsp of ginger-garlic paste. Cook the raw flavour out. And then add tomatoes and cook till the oil starts floating on top.

8) Add a splash of water and add half tsp turmeric pd, half tsp chilli pd optional, 1tsp dhania or coriander pd. And the ground masala. Cook till fragrant and oil starts seperating on the sides.

9) Add about 3 tbsp yoghurt and 1tbsp fresh cream. Cook till infused in the mixture.

10) Add one cup water or chicken stock, let it heat; add the chicken mince and stir well to break any lumps. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 to 9 mins.

11) While the mince is cooking, grill the chicken tikka. If you are grilling on a charcoal grill make sure to get the charring to infuse the smoky taste to the curry. 

If you do not have access to a charcoal grill (like most people) you will probably grill in the oven, open fire (using a grill mat), or like me in a frying pan. 

Adding Smoky flavour to Meat - To get the charcoal flavour I simply heat a piece of charcoal, carefully transfer to a heat proof dish; place the dish in between the chicken tikka in the frying pan. Add a few drops of desi ghee or butter, the ghee starts smoking on the hot charcoal and immediately cover the pan firmly to let the chikken tikka absorp the smoky flavour. 

12 Once the chicken tikka is ready, check the water in the bubbling mince gravy, add half cup if needed; and add the chiken tikka to the gravy. Cover and cook for 5 mins. 

13) Check seasoning, adjust as needed. Add tsp of lemon juice. 

14) Put off the flame, garnish with 1tbsp fresh cream and chopped fresh coriander. 

15) Serve hot, I had made butter-garlic naan's to go with ours. It will pair well with 

with laccha parathas, parottas, or even roti. It's a thick gravy dish, if you are comfortable you can pair it with steamed rice or jeera rice as well. 

Bon Appétit. I hope you will like this recipe as much as we did. My search ends for the perfect Rara Chicken curry😁

Cheers!!!