Rara chicken is one of my family’s favorite foods. It is the most common recipe made in most homes and understandably so, super delicious and so easy to make! It is one of the first things I ever cooked in my life. I can easily say that this dish gave me the confidence and passion to cook, there was no looking back after that.
Mom dad tell me that I was two years old when I started eating chicken and ever since mom hasn’t been able to eat a chicken leg piece without talking about that one night when I trotted to the dining hall, climbed on mom’s lap and snatched that piece from mom’s hands! So it is not only the first dish I ever cooked but also the first chicken dish I ever ate. No wonder I love it so much!
It is usually a one pot dish but I, being the extra person that I am, make it a little different. I cook the tomatoes separately and add it to the chicken when the chicken is almost done. Now hear me out before you call me crazy! Tomatoes are sour so they slow the cooking process and can make the meat tough. But if you cook your meat till almost done and then add the cooked tomatoes and then let the chicken finish cooking it will come out so tender, almost falling off the bone, really makes a huge difference. Now, if you do not want an extra pan to clean, you can just add the pureed tomatoes once the chicken has started to release the oil and is almost cooked, that too would come out good, not as good but pretty darn delicious nevertheless!
Rara Chicken
Ingredients
Marinate:
- 1 kg Chicken legs & thighs
- 1 tbsp. Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp. Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. Salt to taste
- 1/4th tbsp. Pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
Whole Spices:
- 1 Star anise
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2-3 Green cardamom
- 1-2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 3-4 Cloves
- 5-6 Black pepper corns
Masala:
- 1/4 cup Mustard oil
- 1 tbsp. Ginger garlic paste
- 5-6 Medium Onions (Finely chopped)
- 1 tsp. Coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp. Garam masala powder
- 1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
- 1/2 tbsp. red chili powder
- 1-2 Green chilis
- 4 Medium Tomatoes (pureed)
- Salt to taste
Directions
- First, we marinate the chicken. Mix all the ingredients of the marinate in a bowl and let sit for an hour (can be left overnight in the refrigerator, longer the better but do not exceed more than 8 hours).
- Now in a deep heavy bottom skillet add the mustard oil and once heated add the spices. Cook on medium flame for 2 mins, constantly moving them around and being careful not to let the spices burn.
- Next add the onions and cook on high flame for about 10-15mins till they have changed color to a deep brown, again stir constantly and do not take it too far because burnt onions taste horrible, talking from experience. Now add the ginger garlic paste and cook for 2mins on low flame till the raw smell is completely gone.
- Add the turmeric, garam masala, coriander and red chili powder, chopped green chilies and cook for 2-3mins on low flame. Once cooked through, add the marinated chicken and 1/4th cup water. Cook on high flame till the mixture is heated through and then cover and cook for 30mins on low flame. Open the lid a maximum of 2 times to stir the masala and chicken.
- In the mean time, in a separate skillet add a tbsp. oil, the pureed tomatoes and 1/4 tbsp. salt and cook on medium flame till all the water has evaporated and the tomatoes form a mass and start releasing oil. Add this to the chicken, and cover and cook for another 15mins.
- Once the oil is separated i.e., it forms a layer separately the dish is cooked. The chicken would be tender and falling of the bone. A very important thing to note is to not stir the chicken too much after step 5, or the meat will break off completely. You can add warm water at this stage if you prefer more gravy or have it as is, since rara chicken is ideally eaten a little dry. Enjoy with rice or naan/roti!
A Sweet Umami Affair 