The Fowl Affair

The Mughals have gifted the Indian subcontinent with one of the most refined cooking traditions in the world. Mughlai cuisine is as an amalgam of persian and indian cuisines. It absorbed the afghani and turkic elements already prevalent in the kitchens of the Sultans of Delhi, combined extensive use of Central Asian fruits and nuts to make gravies, evolved the tandoor, incorporated various new world spices made available by the Portuguese and Spanish merchants; it continued to scale new heights of sophistication in forms of shahi galouti kebab, hyderabadi biriyani, lukhnowi yakhni pulao to name a few! (http://www.indiacurry.com/faqhistory/mughalcuisine.htm)

In the bengali middle class however, consumption of chicken on a regular basis became popular since last 20-30 years. Having been raised in villages near and far from Calcutta in 1950s, my parents reminisce growing up amidst farm animals, cows, buffalos, goats, hens and ducks. In those days hens and ducks were reared primarily for their eggs; as kids, my parents grew up savouring fresh (dishi) eggs and milk.  In events of feasts, a goat was preferred to hens; first, being a larger animal a single goat would provide for more people; second, red meat is tastier than white! Again, bengali brahmins were prudish; I remember Pishemoshai, now in his eighties, would call the humble hen 'ram-pakhi' and refuse to taste its bland white flesh while he would have no qualms trying spicy mutton and fish curries! Also, ducks were valued more as their cousin the swan is the patron bird for Devi Saraswati, the hindu goddess of knowledge. So culling a duck for food was probably rare in Bengal. The only time I heard of duck meat being cooked at my paternal house was when my boro Jethima (eldest of my paternal aunts) cooked 'hnash er hnari kabab'. My mother remembers giving in to that temptation of lusciousness redefined and subsequently drowning in the sea of guilt! 

The British have influenced every aspect of life in the colonies; cooking and consuming game birds in the middle class bengali households became popular as more and more bengalis started to imitate them. While 'bon murgi r daak bunglow' was saved to be cooked in forest bungalows and ranches, good old 'whole chicken roast' became a status symbol in the nouveau riche bengali circles.
Nowadays, chicken has replaced the fish as staple, this modest bird provides a good source of protein without wrecking the purse.
Mughlai cuisine still reigns supreme in India. As a humble tribute to this exquisite cooking tradition I will begin my collection of Chicken recipes with a Mughlai delicacy, Chicken Korma. This is one preparation that mingles afghani elements like using poppy seeds with traditional indian ones like using ginger and coconut.
Chicken Korma:
Whole chicken - 1, skinned, cut into pieces
ginger paste - 4 tbsp
garlic paste - 2 tbsp
onion paste -2 medium sized
ghee -5 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1
Cloves - 6-8
Cardamons (green) - 2, (black) - 4
Kashmiri chili powder - 5 tbsp
Salt - to taste
For gravy:
Make a paste of poppy seeds ( 2 tbsp), coconut ( 2 tbsp), cashew nuts ( 3 tbsp), may add paste of melon seeds (chalmagaj) ( 3 tbsp). I dry grind each of them separately in coffee grinder and mix them in 2 cups of lukewarm water.

Procedure:
1. Mix chicken pieces with ginger garlic paste and some salt, refrigerate for few hours.
2. Heat ghee, add cinnamon, cloves and green cardamons and saute till they splatter.
3. Add onion paste and fry for 10 mins till the water evaporates.
4. May add sugar (1 tbsp) to the frying onion.
5. Add the Kashmiri chili powder and fry well with the onion for 5 mins.
6. Add the marinated chicken pieces and saute, mix well with the fried onion.
7. Add the mix of poppy seed, coconut, cashew nut and melon seed paste to the chicken, add extra water ( 3-4 cups) and simmer in low heat for 15-20 mins till the chicken is cooked.
8. Dry roast black cardamons, grind to powder and add to the chicken.
9. Serve with paratha or naan.