Angaar ka Murgh: A Gateway Dish to Awadhi Cuisine

A little planning (an overnight marinade) and a few few out-of-the-way ingredients (kewra, coal) are all it takes to recreate this stunning dish at home.

The world-renowned Lucknawi tehzeeb (culture), and nafasat (sophistication) has without a doubt, permeated its cuisine. Awadh or Oudh, and its erstwhile capital, Lucknow, was a province established during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Today, it constitutes the north-eastern region of Uttar Pradesh. The Nawabs, or rulers of Awadh, were great patrons of cuisine. The royal khansamas, or cooks, brought flavours from Central Asia, the Middle East, and closer home, Mughlai cuisine. This royal food lineage still continues in contemporary Lucknawi food culture.

Unlike contemporary cooking, the traditional culinary practices of Lucknow are built on the tenets of slow-cooking, using earthenware on hearths. Central to this is the use of charcoal, or angaara. Charcoal was, and continues to be, extensively used in the furnace, or for dum (Persian word meaning to cook with steam), to accentuate the flavours of a dish.

Angaar ka murgh is a traditional Awadhi recipe prepared in the dum pukht (dum’: breathe in, ‘pukht’: to cook) technique, using charcoal. Essentially, it refers to a slow-cooking process, in which the cooking utensil (a deep handi or pot) is sealed with dough or a cloth, thereby trapping steam within the vessel, allowing the dish cook in its own steam, sealing in the aroma and juices.

Without further ado, here’s a recipe for angaar ka murgh that has been passed down from the Awadhi bawarchi khanah (Awadhi royal kitchen).

Recipe: Angaar ka Murgh

Ingredients
For the Chicken Marinade
1 kg chicken cut into large or medium-sized pieces
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp curd
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp fresh cream
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp oil
Salt to taste

For the gravy
3 medium-sized onions, sliced
3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
3 medium-sized tomatoes
3 tbsp fresh cream
6-8 cashew nuts
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp chicken masala
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 dried red chilli
3 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1 mace
3 black pepper corns
2 large cardamom pods
3 small cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
1 tsp kewra water (pandan extract)
Chopped coriander (optional)
2 tbsp ghee/oil
Salt to taste

For dum
2 medium-sized pieces coal
1 tsp ghee

Method
Place all the chicken pieces in a bowl and and prick evenly with a fork or knife. Combine the marinade ingredients and mix well. Allow to marinate overnight, or at least 4-6 hours in the fridge during the day.

Lightly grill the chicken pieces, in an oven ( 400 degrees for 30 minutes.)  Alternatively, fry in a kadhai or barbeque over coal, in the traditional style.

In a pan, add one tbsp oil and fry sliced onions until golden brown. Once the onions cool, churn them in a blender into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Soak the cashew nuts in warm water for 15 minutes and grind them to a paste. Keep aside.

Blanch 3 tomatoes in boiling water for 5 minutes and peel off their skin. Grind the soft tomatoes into a puree. Keep aside.

In a deep kadhai add 2 tbsp ghee or oil, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom, mace, cinnamon stick, and dry red chilli. Add the brown onion paste and ginger garlic paste, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add a little water to thin out the consistency. Now add cumin powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder, chicken masala powder and fry for 5 minutes. Add in the tomato puree. Cover the lid and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Open the lid and add 2 tbsp cream and stir well for a few minutes.

Add the grilled chicken pieces to the gravy and  pour 1 ½ cup water. Let the chicken simmer in the gravy for 3-4 minutes, stir occasionally. Add salt as required. Add garam masala. The gravy should be thick in consistency and not watery.

On the gas flame, burn two pieces of coal until red hot inside, and ash grey on the outside. Do this just before your chicken in gravy is ready for dum.

Now, to a heavy-bottomed utensil (like a lagaan or steel pot), transfer the chicken and gravy. Drizzle the kewra water.

In the gravy, place a small steel katori or bowl, add the hot charcoal pieces and drizzle a tsp of ghee. Cover the lagan/pot immediately and seal the sides of the lid and pot, with dough. Let the chicken cook on low flame for 5 minutes. (If you do not have a heavy base vessel, you can keep your pot over a tava or pan and cook on low flame.)

Turn off the flame and open the lid after 15 minutes. Remove the charcoal katori and garnish with fresh coriander leaves and cream.

Ready to serve with roti (flatbread), lachcha paratha or rice.

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