Desi Murg Kali Mirch
By: Sanjay Mehrotra
Published: Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 9:09am

Ingredients




1 pound (3 kg) chicken, skinned, jointed
10 dry red chillies, left whole with stalks
5 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder

Preparation

1 Heat pan, add oil; when rippling and approaching smoking point, add whole chillies, stir, add chilli and turmeric powder, stirring; as soon as they begin to change color, add chicken [be careful of fumes] and stir to coat. Here lies the essence of the dish; just as the flavor of  Cajun style dishes can be manipulated by the degree of darkening imposed on the roux, the trick here is to get the chilies, and chili powder to brown and smell toasty without scorching. 2 This toasted chili flavor and oil creates the essential base, quite unlike the caramelized onion base common to north Indian chicken curries. [I have heard that some Oaxacan moles also use an almost-charred chilli seed paste to add an essential flavor component to their 'black mole'.Watching a Cambodian family cook, one was startled to discover that they used handsful quantities of de-seeded dry red chillies fried dark brown to nearly black and powdered.  Thai cooking uses a small quantity of such darkened chillies in some preparations, but in this Cambodian style, coconut milk and substantial amounts of this powder blend into a truly unique flavor: an ugly grey in color, but excellent with chicken] 3 Adjust heat and bhunao until chicken turns white, takes on browned and russet patches and the spices darken.  This period will differ owing to the moisture content and type of chicken, the United States fryer, for example, exuding quantities of liquid.  For this reason, one is unable to specify exact heat levels or time. Country chickens, especially cockerels, in India may require more cooking [and moisture], than the average broiler. 4 When you feel it is time, blend to a paste as much garlic [one large bulb US type?] as you think fit, unskinned along with a quantity of black peppercorns that seem right to your tolerance/taste. Add salt plus paste to the bhunaoed chicken, cover, lower heat, cook in residual moisture until spices smell right, not too raw nor overdone. 5 The second variation: at the bhunaoed stage, add chopped onions and some whole garam masala [clove, green cardamom, cinnamon/cassia], salt; cover, cook as above[but no garlic-pepper paste in this one], to a dry ‘curry’. 6 These are robust, country-style dishes.  Good with parboiled/converted rice or hot, thick chappatis.

About


A friend from the Sylhet area of eastern Bengal showed me his way with chicken, which I find interesting. Here are two of the variations prepared by him, one being a sort of kali mirch chicken.  He used whole chilies and oil with abandon; please choose your tolerance level. He suggested that this type of ‘dry’ preparation was best eaten with slightly moist or sticky rice, and the oil itself was an integral part of the ‘gravy’.
Use a good heavy-bottomed wok/karhai, or pan, with cover.