My stalwart friends from blogging world warned me that blogging will get addictive . Being a person with a natural tendency of getting addicted, I got scared . On second thoughts, I whisked it off thinking that I have been through worse addictions . This is not a forum to divulge the dark secrets…. so not getting into it .

Never thought that how being a passionate cook and disinterested social media person – my wife will get passively addicted . Passive smoking is injurious to health . What about passive blogging ?? Any other case stories ?

In a span of a week all the household support system got changed – the helps never came back from Diwali vacation , the driver of last 2 years went for greener pastures , the Dhobi went for a holiday . Any thing more needs to happen ?

Office was in full swing , Tugga was in wild swing , clients all of a sudden were looking like that swirl of air in the movie Twister,  but life continued ….

It was during these days , after the morning chaos was over while travelling together , struggling through the traffic – I just asked what are you planning to do next – super charged up and excited she said – ‘I was also thinking the same thing’ .

It was for next fifteen minutes we discussed about options , cuisine , colour schemes , props available for shoot and more importantly what we would like to eat next .

This is a result of the brainstorming of that particular day … Let me know how you like it and please leave some feedback for the passive blogger too

Masala Roast Chicken with a Shahi Gravy

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

Chicken 1 whole, with skin Butter 3 tbsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp Cumin powder 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder 2 tsp Fenugreek 4-5 roasted and then pound in mortar and pestle
Garam Masala 1 tsp Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Hung Curd 3 tbsp Salt To taste
Ginger paste 2 tsp Garlic Paste 1 ½ tbsp
Lemon 1 whole Coriander leaves ½ bunch
Green Chili 2 (optional)

 

Ingredients of Masala Roast Chicken with Shahi Gravi - Onion and Almonds

Some of the ingredients for Masala chicken with Shahi Gravy

For the Gravy:

Almonds (blanched and skinned) ½ cup Onions 1 large finely sliced
Saffron Few strands Nutmeg Powder ½ tsp
Tomato Puree ½ cup Sunflower oil 2 tbsp
Ginger paste 1 tsp Garlic Paste 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2  tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder 1 tsp
Kewra water (optional) ½ tsp Milk ½ cup
Salt To Taste Sugar 1 tsp

 

Shahi Gravy cooked with Almonds - a part of the Masala Roasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy

Shahi Gravy – one of the key ingredients of the dish

Method:

Wash and clean the chicken. Pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Slice the butter and rub it underneath the skin all over the chicken.  Take all the spices for marination and mix it with the hung curd. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Add salt and then massage the chicken thoroughly with the paste mix. Make sure to put some in the cavity of the chicken as well. Refrigerate the chicken for 4 -6 hours. You may keep it in the fridge overnight too.

Masala Roasted Chicken  with Shahi gravy after the cooking is completed - Kolkata

The complete dish when ready – Masala Roasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy

Before roasting, bring the chicken to room temperature. Pre heat the oven at 220 degree Celsius. Take a roasting pan, and place some slices of lemon and then place the chicken over it. Put some coriander leaves and half a lemon inside the cavity of the chicken for added flavor. Your may add a couple of chilies too if you like the punch. Place the chicken in the oven for roasting. Leave it at 220 for half hour. Then take it out once and baste it with some butter. Place it back again for another 45 minutes at 200 degrees. By this time the chicken should almost be done. Prick with a sharp knife to get a feel of the texture. I don’t have a digital thermometer to check the temp for exact cooking. However, it can easily be understood by feel. Blast the oven temperature to 220 again for another 10 -15 minutes to bring the golden brown colour to the skin. If you want, you can baste the chicken once again with some butter.

 

Masalaroasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy with clear texture of the Chicken skin can be seen

Close up of Masala Roasted Chicken with Shahi Gravy

For preparing the gravy, in a wok, fry the onions in oil for a couple of minutes till it is translucent in colour. Add the ginger and garlic paste and the almonds. Once they have been tossed well, take it off the heat. Now make a paste from the above in a blender. In the wok, add some more oil. Once it is hot, put in the paste. Add the tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt. Keep frying in medium to low heat till the spices get cooked off and the raw smell of the tomato goes away. Add the saffron (which needs to be soaked in warm milk for half hour), nutmeg powder and sauté a little bit. Keep adding warm water from time to time so that the masala doesn’t stick to the bottom of the wok. Add some sugar, check the seasoning. Add kewra water in the end before turning off the gas. Once the chicken is out of the oven, you can add the excess juices from the roasting pan to your gravy to give it the added depth.

Serve the chicken with the gravy and some steamed basmati rice.