Dish of Chicken Saoji Curry
(click to enlarge)

Chicken Saoji Curry


India, Nagpur in Maharashtra   -   Saoji Waradi, Saoji Komdi
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/4 #
***
2-1/4 hrs
Yes		 A very famous chicken dish from Nagpur in Maharashtra state. Properly made, it is quite chili hot.

1-1/2
8
5
3/4
-------
10
4
1
4
1
1
1-1/2
1
1
1/2
1
8
2
1/2
2
1
-------
2
1
1
1
1
2
-------
1/4
#
oz
cl
in
-----

pod
pod

t
t
T
in

T
t

T
T

t
-----
T
t
t
t
t
c
-----
c
Chicken parts (1)
Onions
Garlic
Ginger root
-- Masala Spices
Chili, dried (2)
Cardamom, green
Cardamom, black (3)  
Cloves
Cumin seed
Cumin, black (4)
Coriander seed
Cinnamon
Mace
Fennel seed
Poppy seed (5)
Peppercorns blk
Coconut, grated (6)  
Chana Dal (7)
Bay Leaf
Stone Flower (8)
--------
Oil
Cumin seed
Turmeric
Chili Powder (9)
Salt
Water
-- Garnish
Cilantro
PREP   -   (45 min)
  1. Prepare CHICKEN as desired (see Chicken).
  2. Chop ONIONS fine.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Slice GINGER very thin, cut slices into threads, and cut threads very fine. Place both in a Mortar with 1/4 t salt and pound to paste.
  4. Dry Pan Toast all Masala Spices one by one, just until aromatic, and perhaps darkened just a shade. The chilis should be browned in spots but not blackened (see Toasting). Pour them out on a plate to cool. When cool, grind in a spice grinder, or preferably an Indian Mixie which will do the whole batch at once in about 5 seconds.
  5. Chop CILANTRO medium for garnish. Measure is after chopping, lightly packed.
RUN   -   (1 hr)
  1. In a 3-1/2 qt sauté pan, coverable kadhai, or wok, heat Oil quite hot. Stir in Cumin Seeds until they are quite aromatic but not burned, then stir in Garlic mix, Turmeric, Chili Powder and Masala Spices until well mixed. Stir in Onions and fry stirring until Onions are well translucent. Scrape the bottom of the pan vigorously so the masala doesn't burn to it.
  2. Stir in Chicken and fry stirring over moderate heat for about 3 minutes, then stir in Salt and Water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Simmer covered about 40 minutes, or until tender. Tumble the Chicken now and then for even cooking. You may want to boil down the sauce a bit for the last third of cooking, but not to far, it'll firm up as it cools a bit.
  3. Serve hot, garnished with Cilantro. Serve with plenty of steamed Basmati Rice, Chipatis or other Roti, and with a Raita (cool Yogurt Salad) on the side.
NOTES:

  1. Chicken:

      This recipe is made form bone-in skinless chicken parts, usually legs, which may be whole or cut. For the example recipe I cut off the thin parts and used them in the stock pot. I cut the thick parts in half, all this with a razor sharp Chinese Cleaver Knife & Mallet to drive it through. In India, Chicken is usually stripped of skin and all removable fat (except for tandoor).

  2. Chili, Dried Red:

      This dish is supposed to be Hot. 10 of the standard Japone chilis barely gave the finished dish any hotness at all. One Indian writer said he used half Kashmir (mild, probably actually Byadgi) and half Guntur (quite hot and way larger than Japones). Gunturs are banned from North America and Europe for excess pesticide residue. Another recipe called for Patna Chilis, which are unknown to me. Both these recipes added a substantial amount of hot chili powder in the final curry. For details see our Indian Chilis page.

  3. Black Cardamom:

      This is much different, much larger, and not interchangeable with Green Cardamom. For details see our Cardamom page.

  4. Black Cumin:

      [Shahi Jeera (India)]   This is NOT Kalonji / Nigella. often called "Black Cumin" in North America - and it's not our fault. It's what the Bongs (Bengalis) call Nigella, and they got here early. Shahi Jerra is small, thin and sickle shaped. For details see our Cumin | Black Cumin page.

  5. Poppy Seeds:

      [Khas Khas (India)]   In India it is white poppy seeds that are used in cooking. In this recipe you could use the black if you don't have the white. For details see our Poppy Seeds page.

  6. Coconut, Grated:

      This must be unsweetened coconut, preferably fine grated. It gets toasted to a light blonde color.

  7. Chana Dal:

    This is split and peeled Bengal Gram (Desi type Chickpeas). For details see our Chickpeas (Bengal / Desi type) page.

  8. Stone Flower:

      [Dagad Phool (Maharashtra)]   This is a signature flavoring of the Maharashtra region, also used in Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu regions. For details see our Lichens page.

  9. Chili Powder:

      In finishing the curry, I added 1 teaspoon of Indian Khandela chili flake which is fairly hot, and it was barely enough, probably scandalously mild by Nagpur standards.

  10. Toasting Spices:

      While each spice is very quick to toast, there are a lot of them, so it takes time. In Nagpur, enough would be toasted at once to make several curries, and this would not take much more time than a one dish batch. Keep you toasting pan between 370° and 400°F (190/200°C) and pull off the heat if you see even a trace of smoke.

  11. Buffet Service:

      I would use skinless, boneless chunks of Leg & Thigh meat cut into about 1-1/4 inch chunks. The amount of sauce in this recipe can support at least 2-1/2 pounds of Chicken.
  12. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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