White chicken bhuna for guests: a mild recipe with milk and whole spices

When guests arrive, a Bengali household wants the meal to be a little special. On 12 February 2026, Jagonews24 published a recipe for white chicken bhuna (shada bhuna), a dish it described as different in taste yet close to tradition, to sit beside the usual polao, roast and korma. It is low in chilli heat, pale in colour and distinct in flavour. The recipe uses 1 kg of chicken, 1 litre of liquid milk, onions, ginger, garlic, green chillies and whole garam masala. The ingredients and steps are set out below.

Wikipedia describes bhuna as a slow-roasted, dry style of curry, often made with meat, which originated in Bengal. A paste of onions, garlic and ginger is fried in oil, and the meat is then braised at length in a karahi, a deep, heavy, round pan, so that the sauce reduces and thickens and the flavour becomes rich. An ordinary bhuna therefore tends to look dark.

The white version leaves turmeric and dried chilli powder out of its ingredient list. Its heat comes from green chillies, and it is cooked with liquid milk, ground coriander and cumin, and whole spices such as bay leaves, white peppercorns, cardamom and cinnamon. That keeps the colour pale and the heat mild.

• Chicken, 1 kg
• Ginger, one 2-inch piece
• Garlic, 1 whole bulb
• Onions, 5 to 6
• Green chillies, 4 to 5
• Liquid milk, 1 litre
• Ground coriander, 1 teaspoon
• Ground cumin, 1 teaspoon
• Whole garam masala (bay leaves, white peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon), 3 to 4 of each
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil, half a cup
• Garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon

• Cut the chicken, clean it well and let the water drain off.
• Crush the whole onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies together.
• Mix all the ingredients thoroughly into the meat and leave it to marinate for 2 hours.
• Heat the oil in a karahi, add the marinated chicken and cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
• Lower the heat and cook on a medium flame until the meat is tender, stirring now and then so it does not stick to the pan.
• When the sauce has reduced and coats the meat, sprinkle in the garam masala powder and take the pan off the heat.

The white chicken bhuna is then ready for the table.

The original recipe says to wash the meat. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, says raw chicken is ready to cook and does not need to be washed first. Its other advice:

• Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw chicken.
• Use a separate cutting board for raw chicken, and never put cooked food or fresh produce on a plate or board that held raw chicken.
• Use a food thermometer to check that the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of 165°F.
• Refrigerate leftover cooked chicken within 2 hours.

Photo: Subhankar.c / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Wikipedia (Bhuna), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)