Murg Khurchan
During my stay at the Oberoi Hotel in Gurgaon, Northern India, I discovered the delightful Murg Khurchan. Initially, I ordered the Chicken Tikka, but the waiter recommended trying the Murg Khurchan, and it turned out to be the best curry I’ve ever tasted. This recipe is inspired by Marut Sikka’s version, which seems to be the most authentic.
Marut Sikka has been acclaimed by India’s leading food critics as the only individual in this century to have done the most to revive and nurture the traditions of North Indian cooking.
Ingredients
Chicken (marinade)
- Pack of 500g chicken breasts
- 8 cloves garlic grated
- Large piece of ginger (size of thumb)
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- Salt
- 2 tsps olive oil
Masala
- 4 dried chilies
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
Sauce
- Good knob butter/ghee
- 8 cloves garlic (grated)
- 7 large salad tomatoes (chopped)
- 4 green chilies
- Tomato Pure
Assembly
- 50 gm butter
- 2 onions sliced
- 1 green bell pepper (cut into strips)
- 1 red bell pepper (cut into strips)
- 1 yellow bell pepper (cut into strips)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (roasted and crushed)
- Fresh coriander (chopped)
Method
- Marinade the chicken
- Slice (against the grain) the chicken and add to a bowl
- Add in the ginger (grated), juice of one lemon, chili powder, pepper salt and oil.
- Mix well and leave to marinade for a few hours.
- Roast the masala ingredients in a pan then grind to a fine powder.
- Part cook the chicken on skewers on BBQ (6 mine) or cook in the oven at 225c for 10 minutes.
- Create the sauce
- Chop the tomatoes first into a bowl and put aside
- Heat the butter/ghee in a medium heat pan add the garlic and fry until golden brown (care not to burn). Add the masala powder and immediately add the chopped tomatoes (don’t burn the masala as you have already toasted it).
- Add salt to taste, turn down the heat and cook them low and slow until the tomatoes form a sauce. Recommend slow cook for approx 30 mins. You can also blend the sauce until smooth
- Then add the green chilies and tomato pure, and cook for 2 minutes then put aside.
- Assemble it all off in a flat bottomed pan
- Low-Medium heat, add the butter and when it melts add the sliced onions and cook until they are “glossy”
- Add the half cooked chicken.
- Add the bell peppers until softened (still crunchy)
- Add the sauce and keep scraping
- Add fenugreek leaves and cook for another 1-2 minutes
- Serve with fresh coriander.
Links