Murgh-Do-Pyaza (Slow Cooked Chicken in Onion Gravy)

Spread the Joy of Cooking...

Do Pyaza-  (It has potato as the plate is served for a kid)

Today's recipe is from the lanes of old Lucknow. It's Murg-Do-Pyaza(Slow Cooked Chicken in Onion Gravy). In Lucknow, generally, live chicken is bought, cut, clean, and then prepared in different styles. Though dressed broiler chicken is also a new addition to the poultry business nowadays. But the old generation still prefers the young country farm chicken. According to them, it is tastier than broiler chicken. And up to some extent, I also agree with the later statement.

As a child, I remember, every Sunday, my mother used to cook her regular style chicken gravy, and it tasted divine. The reason was one and only, the live chicken. And it took 2-3 hours to cook unlike the broiler chicken available these days. Ideally, the live chicken should be cooked for at least 4-5 hours after it has been dressed. This helps to kills all the bacteria present in the chicken. For broiler chicken, this type of treatment is not needed as it is already cleaned and treated.

Coming back to the chicken again, during the springtime, when the onion crop is harvested, this is one of the dishes prepared by the cooks of Lucknow. The term Do-Pyaza literally means 'twice the onions'. Implementing the addition of onions twice in the dish. It is one of the most debatable recipes from where it belongs. People from Hyderabad and Lucknow fight for the origin of this recipe. But does it matter? No, it only matters, the taste and way it is prepared. 
There are many ways of preparing this recipe, but this one is my take on it.

Prep Time:- 60 minutes  Cooking Time:- 60 minutes 
 Total Time:-  2 hours

Total Serving:- 4-5 persons

Measurement:-

1 cup = 250 ml 

¾ cup = 200 ml

½ cup = 125 ml 

1/3 cup = 80 ml

1 tablespoon = 15 ml

1 teaspoon = 5 ml

½ teaspoon = 2.5 ml

¼ teaspoon = 1.25 ml

Ingredients:-
* Chicken with bones:- 1 kg (cut into 12-14 pieces)
* Onions:- 400 gms (200 gms roughly chopped+200 gms sliced)
* Ginger Paste:- 1 tablespoon
* Garlic Paste:- 2 tablespoon
* Yogurt:- 1/2 cup
* Pepper Powder:- 1/2 teaspoon
* Red Chilli Powder:- 1 teaspoon
* Coriander Powder:- 1 tablespoon
* Cloves:- 3-4 nos.
* Cinnamon:- 1-inch piece
* Cardamons:- 4-5 nos.
* Nutmeg Powder:- less than 1/4 teaspoon (optional)
* Salt:- to taste
* Refined Oil:- 1/2 cup or 6 tablespoons

Method:-

1. Take chicken in a big bowl. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, and yoghurt to it. Give chicken pieces a good massage and leave it for resting for at least one hour.

2. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and fry 200gms of sliced onions till golden brown and crispy. Strain from the oil and keep it aside.

3. Now in the same pan, add cloves, cinnamon, and cardamoms and saute it for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 200 gms of roughly chopped onions to it and fry till translucent or light brown colour. It will take not more than 2-3 minutes.

4. Now add red chilli powder, pepper powder, and coriander powder to the pan, Cook all the masalas well. Make sure to sprinkle some water to avoid burning the masalas.

5. Add the marinated chicken to the pan. Stir and mix thoroughly so that all the spices coat the chicken pieces well. Cook it on high heat till all the moisture dries up. It will take approximately 5-6 minutes. 

6. After 5 minutes, cover and cook the chicken on medium heat till the oil appears on the sides of the chicken. Make sure to sprinkle some water in between to avoid masalas sticking to the pan.

7. Now add 3/4 fried onion(mentioned in point 2) and salt to the gravy and mix well. Add water (It should be sufficient for thick gravy.) Cook well till the chicken is completely done. Add nutmeg powder to the chicken and switch off the heat. 

8. Your drooling Murgh do Pyaza is now ready to be served. Garnish it with the remaining fried onions before serving.

Serving Tip:- Tastes best with naans, chapatis, and paranthas. It also goes well with steamed rice.

Calorie count per serving:-

Do try my recipe and leave comments below. Till then Happy Cooking.!

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