Chicken Rezala | Benagli Style Chicken Curry

rezala chicken curry in a aluminium kadhai along with a spoon

Chicken Rezala | Benagli Style Chicken Curry

This Bengali style Chicken Rezala is delicate and fragrant. Made with unique ingredients like poppy seeds and kewra water, this chicken curry from West Bengal is indulgent and yet surprisingly light.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Bengali, Indian

Diet Gluten Free, Halal

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 55

Servings portions

Calories 397kcal

Author Richa

Ingredients

Ingredients:

500 grams bone-in chicken cut into large pieces approx 2-inch
⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons curds whisked, sub with plain greek yoghurt
½ teaspoon white pepper powder
¾ teaspoon salt divided
1 teaspoon poppy seeds khus khus
1 tablespoon broken cashew nuts or 3 whole cashew nuts
1 tablespoon dry coconut or khopra peeled and chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons ghee
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 dry red chillies whole
2 bay leaves
1 inch cinnamon
4 cloves whole
2 green cardamoms whole
1 blade of mace
⅓ cup onion paste see Note 1
¾ teaspoon ginger garlic Paste
½ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon cornflour
¼ teaspoon sugar
⅛ cup milk 30 ml
½ cup water 120 ml
⅛ teaspoon homemade garam masala use ¼ teaspoon if using store bought
3 green chillies slit lengthwise
2-3 drops kewra water optional

Instructions

Marinate Chicken - Mix chicken, ¼ teaspoon salt, white pepper powder and 2 tablespoons of curds in a bowl and marinate for 20 minutes.
500 grams bone-in chicken, ½ teaspoon white pepper powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons curds
Making Poppy-Cashew-Kopra Paste - Soak poppy seeds, cashew nuts and kopra in ¼ cup of warm water for 30 minutes. Transfer the soaked ingredients to a blender along with the water they were soaked in and blend to make a smooth paste.
1 teaspoon poppy seeds, 1 tablespoon broken cashew nuts or 3 whole cashew nuts, 1 tablespoon dry coconut or khopra
Roast Chicken - Heat ½ tablespoon ghee in a kadhai over medium heat. Add chicken pieces to the pan making sure that they don't overlap and gently fry them on both sides for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown the chicken or this will change the colour of the gravy. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2 tablespoons ghee

Making of Gravy

Saute Spices - Heat the same kadhai with the remaining 1 & ½ tablespoons ghee & 1 tablespoon oil.
2 tablespoons ghee, 1 tablespoon cooking oil
Add whole red chillies to the kadhai and fry for a minute or so making sure they don’t burn. Once fried, remove the chillies and set aside for later.
2 dry red chillies
To the kadhai, add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom & mace and fry till fragrant.
2 bay leaves, 1 inch cinnamon, 4 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 blade of mace
Saute Aromatics - Add onion paste and cook on low heat for 7-8 mins till you see oil separating from the sides. Paste will turn a pale pink. Keep stirring while cooking and do not allow the onion paste to become brown.
⅓ cup onion paste
Add ginger-garlic paste and coriander powder and fry for about 3 minutes. Add a splash of water to prevent it from burning. Add poppy-cashew-kopra paste and fry for another 3 mins.
¾ teaspoon ginger garlic Paste, ½ teaspoon coriander powder
Mix cornflour with 1 teaspoon of water to make a slurry. Add this slurry to curds & beat thoroughly until lump free. Add it to the kadhai, and whisk constantly so that curds do not split. Cook on low flame while stirring till curds are cooked and you see oil float to the top.
¼ teaspoon cornflour
Add roasted chicken, milk, water, remaining ½ teaspoon salt and sugar. Cook covered on low heat for 18-20 mins till the chicken is tender.
¾ teaspoon salt, ⅛ cup milk, ½ cup water, ¼ teaspoon sugar
Add fried red chillies, slit green chillies, cook for another minute. Turn off the heat, add Kewra water drops, mix and it's done.
3 green chillies, 2-3 drops kewra water, ⅛ teaspoon homemade garam masala

Video

Notes

Using bone-in chicken keeps the meat tender and juicy. Ideally, if large cuts of chicken are not available to you, use drumsticks and thighs which will work equally well.
To make onion paste, grind a roughly chopped medium onion in the mixer grinder without adding any water. This should yield you approx ⅓ cup of onion paste.
Adding dry coconut or kopra to the poppy seed paste is optional. However adding it gives a mild nutty flavour to the gravy.
If poppy seeds are not available, then skip using them in the recipe or replace them with melon seeds.
It’s ok to replace white pepper powder with black pepper powder but you might see specks of this in the gravy.
Kewra water is an extract that is distilled from pandanus flowers. It is a transparent liquid and has a very strong flavour. Do not use more than 2-3 drops as it will make the curry bitter.

Nutrition