Murgh Shahjahani/ Chicken Shahjahani

Murgh Shahjahani…the name itself sounds so royal and transports you to the Shahi Mughal Era, it’s history, art, culture, architecture and the rich culinary legacy they bequeathed to us. According to food historian Salma Husain, there’s more to Mughlai cuisine than the greasy mashup of masala and oil. She says in her recent book which is on Mughal emperors and their food habits that there was a subtelty to the cuisine which is missing in this age’ s Mughal fare. Mughal cooking was a riot of colours and fragrances and her book gives an insight to how Mughal cooking evolved from Central Asian blandness to Indian richness.

This delightful creamy Chicken dish is cooked with aromatic spices,cashew nut paste, yogurt and cream which give a nice smoothness to the rich gravy. Shahjahani is a method of cooking where the ingredients are simmered for a long time.This is a famous dish in Agra and every gourmet hotel and every roadside stall in the gullies near the Taj Mahal offer this speciality and it’s a hit.

The internet is full of Shahjahani Murgh recipes and every recipe is different from the other but cashewnuts and yogurt are a common ingredient in every recipe. Thankfully I have stuck to one of my favourite recipe book “Chicken Delight ” compiled by the MasterChefs of India and this book has been a saviour since the year I got married. I have churned out succulent chicken tikkas to creamy curries for my guests from this book and the masterchefs have never let me down.

Though the recipe doesn’t ask for marination, I personally prefer to marinate the raw chicken with masalas as marinating infuses the flavours and keeps the chicken moist while cooking.

Murgh Shahjahani/ Chicken Shahjahani

Print Recipe

This delightful creamy Chicken dish is cooked with aromatic spices,cashew nut paste, yogurt and cream which give a nice smoothness to the rich gravy.

• Coursemain course
• Cuisinenorth indian

Servings	Prep Time
5 serving	10 minutes

Cook Time	Passive Time
30 minutes	30 minutes

Servings Prep Time 5 serving 10 minutes

Cook Time Passive Time 30 minutes 30 minutes

Murgh Shahjahani/ Chicken Shahjahani Print Recipe This delightful creamy Chicken dish is cooked with aromatic spices,cashew nut paste, yogurt and cream which give a nice smoothness to the rich gravy. Coursemain course Cuisinenorth indian Servings Prep Time 5 serving 10 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 30 minutes 30 minutes Servings Prep Time 5 serving 10 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 30 minutes 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken ,curry cut
• 2 tej Bayleaves/ patta
• 3 (1cm) pcs cinnamon / Dalchini
• 8 Cardamoms / elaichi Green / Choti
• 2/3 Tsp Caraway Seeds / ShahJeera
• 8 cloves / laung
• 1 C onion ,chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 5 tsps ginger paste
• 5 tsps garlic paste
• 1/2 C Cashewnut Paste/ Kaju paste
• 3/4 C yoghurt ,whisked
• 1 C water Hot
• to taste salt
• 2 1/2 tbsps cream
• 3 quartered eggs ,boiled and
• 1 1/2 tsps Cardamom Elaichi Black / Badi Pwdr
• bunch coriander A small fresh ,chopped

Servings: serving

Instructions

1. Marinate the chicken with little turmeric,salt and chilli powder for half an hour.
2. Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan over medium heat.
3. Add the Bayleaves,cinnamon sticks,green cardamoms,caraway seeds and cloves,sautxe9 until the spices begin to crackle.
4. Add the chopped onions,turmeric and chilli powder,sautxe9 for a minute.
5. Add the ginger garlic pastes,fry for 3-4 minutes till the raw smell goes away.
6. Now mix in the Cashewnut paste and sautxe9 for a minute.
7. Add the marinated chicken pieces and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat.
8. Pour in the whisked yoghurt with the hot water and salt( make sure you put only to cater for the masala as the chicken has already been marinated with the salt),cover and simmer for 10 -15 minutes more over low flame.
9. Finally when the chicken is cooked add the cream and black cardamom powder and mix.
10. Serve garnished with the eggs and chopped coriander.

Share this Recipe