Murg Musallam

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Description:
This is a  Mughlai dish that is so rich in tasty and the aroma is amazing. Inspired from a cookery show.

Ingredients:
1. Whole chicken - 900gms
2. Minced chicken - 150-200 gms
3. Egg - 3
4. Onion - 2(medium)
5. Ginger
6. Garlic
7. Curd - 1/2 cup
8. Almonds - 10
9. Cashew nuts
10. Tomato - 1 to 2(medium)
11. Coriander leaves
12. Thick thread to tie chicken/long piece of clean muslin cloth
13. Turmeric powder - 1/2tspn
14. Chilli powder - 2tspn
15. Coriander powder - 1 to 2 tspn
16. Garam masala - 1tspn
17. Pepper powder (optional)
18. Oil
19. Cumin seeds(Use Shahi jeera/Black cumin if you have in store)
20. Salt to taste

Procedure:
Clean and wash the whole chicken. Put some slits on the chest and thighs of the chicken. Apply little turmeric powder and salt all over the chicken and leave it aside. Soak the almonds in warm water for 5 minutes so that the skin will easily come off. Peel out the almond skin. Dry roast the almonds and the cashew. Add some salt too while roasting. Let it cool down and then transfer to a blender. Add little water and make a paste. Take the curd in a bowl and beat it properly. Next prepare the stuffing for murg.

Stuffing:
Put the minced chicken in a bowl and add some warm milk . Mix properly with a spoon. Adding warm milk will avoid the formation of lumps/big chuncks while we cook the stuffing. Chop onions, coriander leaves and crush the ginger/garlic or you can use readymade ginger/garlic paste. Take a skillet and pour oil. Add the onions and saute it till they starts to change colour. Add the crushed ginger /garlic and 1/2 tspn of chilli powder, pepper powder and garam masala. Next goes in the minced chicken and some salt. Close the lid and cook till the chicken is 90% done. Remove from the stove and add the chopped coriander leaves. Set it aside. Boil the eggs and put them into the stuffing.

Gravy:
Chop the remaining onion and tomato . Take a deep bottom skillet and pour some oil. Add the cumin, and onions. Saute till onions turn golden brown. Add the remaining chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, crushed ginger/garlic and garam masala. Mix properly and cook till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes becomes soft and all the excess water is dried off. Next goes in the almond paste we made. Let it boil once and then the curd. Mix properly and add some water incase you feel the gravy is too thick. Add salt. Allow the gravy to boil.

Preparing Chicken:
Take the Chicken and wash away the turmeric and salt under running water. Take the stuffing you made and start stuffing the chicken. Little minced chicken then one egg like that stuff in as much as you can. Take a thick thread/clean muslin  cloth. Incase if you are using a muslin cloth make sure its clean and not used. Cut into a long piece to tie the chicken.

First tie the legs so that it holds the stuffing inside then run the thread along the body and through the wings and finally make a knot.  Rub some chilli powder on the chest of the chicken  and little salt on the whole chicken.

Cooking Murg Musallam:
When the gravy starts to boil slow place the chicken in the middle.  The chest  of the chicken should go down. Rotate the chicken clockwise and scope some gravy. Pour it all over the chicken. Close the lid and cook. After  every 3-5 minutes open the lid and turn the chicken slowly. Pour some gravy over the chicken. Repeat this process 2-3 times and cook the chicken for almost 15 minutes.

After that slowly and carefully lift the chicken and turn over, so now the back of the chicken will be down. Close the lid and let it cook. Occasionally open the lid and rotate  the chicken clockwise. Pour some gravy over the chcken. Repeat this process for 2-3 times and let the chicken cook for another 15 minutes. While rotating the chicken if you feel the water is less and its sticking  to the bottom then add some more water. The chicken will be done after  cooking on medium flame for almost 30 minutes(15-15minutes) on both sides. Incase if you find the gravy is thin make it thick by cooking with lids open.

Turn off the flame and allow the Murg musallam to cool down. After sometime transfer to a platter and  serve it with some Shahi pulao, fried rice, naan etc. Enjoy this dish in Mughalai style.

Note:
1. Poppy seeds/khuskhus is also a main ingredient that can be add for the preparation. Since I didn`t have it at home so I skipped it.
2. If you are using normal cumin add very little. You don`t want to over power the rich taste of the almond and cashew nuts with cumin taste . :)