Murgh Musallam is a popular chicken preparation which is enjoyed throughout the Indian subcontinent, where the dish is considered to be a specialty of Awadhi cuisine and is mostly cooked on some ceremonial occasions. The competence of cooks in this region is gauged by their ability to round off this dish. The preparation of Murgh Musallam is an art in itself because the character of dish depends on the ratio of ingredients used and knowledge with respect to way of controlling the heat. The traditionalists normally go for country chicken varieties rather than the hybrid ones, because they impart distinct flavor to the dish. However, the country chicken varieties take longer processing and cooking time. The word Murgh Musallam is derived from two distinct words murg and musallam. Murg means chicken in Urdu and Musallam means complete. Experts say that the dish has derived its name from the elaborate cooking process where the whole chicken is cooked in creamy sauce and spices.
Murgh Musallam Recipe- Ingredients
Three stages are involved in the preparation of this dish.
· Normally boneless chicken is used in the preparation of the dish, which is combined with onions, tomatoes, garlic pods, turmeric, red chili powder, cooking oil, almond powder and freshly chopped parsley.
· The spice mix used in the preparation of the dish is prepared by combining spices like black pepper corns, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom.
· The marinade is prepared by combining ingredients such as ginger garlic paste, green chili paste, curd, coriander, red chili powder, and salt.
Murgh Musallam Recipe- Preparation Process
tThe dish is prepared by first cooking the chicken in marinade. Thereafter, almond paste is prepared by combining almond powder with water, and tomato paste is prepared by boiling and pureeing tomatoes, with both the pastes set aside for sime time. The other ingredients like onions and garlic are fried in oil and marinated chicken is added to the mix and fried till golden brown. It is then mixed with tomato paste, almond paste, and water, and the chicken is further cooked in this marinade till it turns soft. The Murgh Musallam is garnished with chopped parsley before taking it down from the stove.
Eating and Serving Murg Musallam
This dish is normally teamed with plain rice, cooked basmati rice, pulao, and rotis.
