Simple Bengali Boneless Chicken Rezala
Ingredients
Marinade
- 700g skinless chicken thighs cut into large bite sized pieces
- 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
- 1 tbsp finely grated garlic
- 500g natural or Greek yogurt (not 0% fat)
- 1 tsp salt
Additional
- 12 cashews
- 1 tbsp white poppy seeds (sub sesame seeds)
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1-2 green chillies
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom pod (optional)
- 2 green cardamom pods
- 2 cloves
- 4 dried Kashmiri chillies torn into pieces (seeds removed)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (optional)
- 90ml water
- Salt
Preparation
Put the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix well, then cover and refrigerate for two or more hours. After marinating, remove the chicken from the fridge and set aside. Put the cashews and poppy seeds in a grinder or pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder, then set aside.
Heat the oil in your pan on medium high and add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black and green cardamom, cloves, and torn pieces of Kashmiri chilli. Fry for a couple of minutes, then stir in the onion, green chilli, and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the edges of the onion are turning golden brown. Then stir in the ground cashew mixture, ground coriander, garam masala, and Kashmiri chilli powder and stir for 1 minute.
Add the chicken and the marinade and cook through for a few minutes. Then swill the remaining marinade in the bowl with the water and stir it into the pan. Cover and simmer on medium for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then remove the lid and simmer for another 15-17 minutes. As the sauce thickens, the oil will separate at the sides. Season to taste, cover, and rest for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
This is a boneless version of the traditional bone-in Bengali dish.
