A light chicken dish from Lahore in Pakistan.
This green masala chicken has a fresh taste, with the lemon, ginger and spices complementing a large amount of coriander.
Called hariyali chicken. or hara masala murgh, this dish is another family dish, often served at Eid. This is a no-fuss, no onion, no tomato and no dairy dish.
The word hara means green, but this is not like a south-east Asian green curry chicken. The chicken is gently cooked in its own juices and should be moist and tender but without a rich gravy. The green colour will come from the coriander, mint and green chillies.
This dish only takes about 30-40 minutes to prepare and cook. You may even get it done faster if you use a machine to chop the herbs and chilli, and you already have a suitable ginger-garlic paste. Note, however, that the prepared garlic-ginger pastes will not have enough ginger for this recipe to work. Making it as needed for this recipe will produce much better results.
I must reinforce that although you may save some time on preparation, please do not hurry the cooking process. You must first ensure you have properly cooked the chicken, or you may put your family or guests into hospital. You should cook it as described on low heat. Rapid, high-temperature cooking will almost certainly burn the masala and give it an unpleasant taste.
The masala should have a fine texture, but not a puree. Coarsely chopped ingredients may give a rustic feel, but do not add to the dish. Although a family recipe, it is considered a special dish that should be worthy of care and effort.
This recipe comes from a time when India and Pakistan were not independent. There are many dishes that come from this food tradition – not least of which is Lahore’s favourite gift to the world, the samosa.
My grandmother was introduced to this recipe by her then cook, a muslim from Lahore. Such cooks were highly regarded by the European community in Calcutta. They were experienced in cooking with meat, which the British loved, and their food tradition could be described as having a light Mughal touch. Many of them had served the equivalent of an apprenticeship in well-to-do Pakistani families, and had few of the religious or cultural constraints of the more common Hindu cooks. This high regard caused considerable turnover in the household cook ranks, as they were actively sought out and poached from other families.
My grandmother reflected a little on this situation in her notes, and was not best pleased at losing this particular cook to another family. Apparently she and her counterpart in the other family never spoke to each other again.
This dish is ideally served with chapatis, straight off the stove, with a side salad of kachumber.
the recipe
about
equipment
equipment
- small frypan
- wide pan with lid
- slotted spoon
ingredients
ingredients
- 800 g chicken thigh fillets - cut into large pieces
for the masala
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 60 g ginger - coarsely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic - coarsely chopped
- 3 tbsp gingelly oil
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 g coriander - leaves, stalks and roots finely chopped
- 20 g mint leaves - finely chopped
- 1 green chilli - finely chopped
- 1 lemon - juiced
for serving
- 1 tbsp coriander leaves - finely chopped
- 1 lemon - cut into wedges
instructions
instructions
- Place a small frypan on medium heat and add the cumin and coriander seeds. Toast the spices until they become aromatic then remove from the heat. When cool enough to handle, grind to a fine powder. Set aside.2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds
- Make a coarse paste of ginger, garlic and a littl;e water. Set aside.60 g ginger – coarsely chopped, 5 cloves garlic – coarsely chopped
- Heat the gingelly oil in a wide, heavy, pan on medium-high heat. When hot, brown the chicken pieces on both sides. You will need to do this in batches to avoid stewing the chicken. When browned, use a slotted spoon to put the chicken into a bowl.3 tbsp gingelly oil, 800 g chicken thigh fillets – cut into large pieces
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the pan to cool a little. Put the ginger and garlic paste into the same oil. Be careful to not get spattered by the oil. Stir and fry it for two minutes or until the raw garlic and ginger smell has gone.
- Add the turmeric, salt and the ground cumin and coriander seeds. Mix well and fry for about one minute.½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp salt
- Add the finely chopped coriander, mint, and green chilli. Mix well and fry for about one minute.200 g coriander – leaves, stalks and roots finely chopped, 20 g mint leaves – finely chopped, 1 green chilli – finely chopped
- Put the browned chicken pieces and any liquid from the bowl into the masala. Mix well.
- Add the lemon juice, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly, turn the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.1 lemon – juiced
to serve
- Turn the pan into a serving dish, and garnish with the coriander leaves. Serve with the lemon wedges.1 tbsp coriander leaves – finely chopped, 1 lemon – cut into wedges
notes
notes
private notes
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