Mezbani usually means the beef of Chattogram's feasts, slow-fried in a heavy, hot spice mix. The same spicing works with chicken, and Agricare24's lifestyle recipe desk has set out the ingredients and the method for a mezbani-style chicken bhuna.
Main ingredients: 2 kg chicken, 2 cups sliced onion, 1 cup onion paste, 2 tablespoons ginger paste, 1.5 tablespoons garlic paste, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 1.5 teaspoons chilli powder, 1.5 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 tablespoon mustard paste, 1 teaspoon poppy seed paste, 2-3 bay leaves, 7-8 green chillies, 1 cup oil and salt to taste.
For the roasted spice mix: 1 tablespoon cumin, 3-4 cardamom pods, 3 pieces of cinnamon, a few pieces of mace, 1 teaspoon fennel, 1 teaspoon fenugreek, 1 teaspoon cubeb (kababchini) and a little nutmeg. Dry-roast them lightly over low heat, cool and grind. Over-roasting can make the mix bitter.
Rub the chicken with half the roasted spice mix, the onion paste, ginger and garlic pastes, turmeric, chilli and coriander powders, mustard and poppy seed pastes, bay leaves and salt. Cover and leave for at least an hour.
Heat the oil and fry the sliced onion until reddish brown. Add the marinated chicken and fry it well over medium heat. When the oil separates, add a little water, cover and cook, stirring now and then so it does not catch.
When the meat is tender and the gravy thick, stir in the green chillies and the rest of the spice mix and cook a little longer over low heat. Turn off the heat once the spices cling to the meat and the oil rises to the top, and leave it covered for a few minutes so the aroma settles in.
Serve the chicken mezbani bhuna with hot rice, rice-flour roti or paratha.
Photo: abdullah2ice / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Agricare24
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