The memories of Poila Boishakh (the first day of Bengali New Year) are still fresh in my mind. In my childhood days, we used to go out on this day to meet and greet our relatives, and it was fantastic to spend some time together on the first day of the Bengali New Year. It was a family ritual back then. There would be special items on the menu cooked by Ma and so on. Every Bengali family plans something special for Poila Boishakh, either they eat out or some rich, mouthwatering dishes prepared at home to welcome the New Year with much joy and excitement.

So it was obvious for me to plan something special for this day. I gave a twist to our traditional Malaikari by cooking it with chicken this time. The dish turned out great. It had all the aroma from the whole spices, the delicious curry was rich in taste, and the pieces of chicken were succulent, absorbing all the flavors from the coconut milk curry.

Try this Murg Malaikari recipe and celebrate the first day of the Bengali New Year with some extra deliciousness for your loved ones. And don’t forget to tell me about your experience of cooking it, Shubho Noboborsho. 🙂

Murg Malaikari

Ingredients

• Chicken- 1 kg (curry cut)
• Paste of 3 medium sized onions
• Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Ginger paste- 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder- 1 tbsp
• Coconut milk- 1 cup
• Green chilies- 3-4 (halved)
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Kashmiri mirch powder- 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Mustard oil

For tempering:

• Whole dry red chilies- 2 (halved)
• Black peppercorn- ½ tsp (roughly crushed)
• Green cardamoms- 4-5 (roughly crushed)
• Cinnamon- Two, 1” pieces
• Cloves- 3-4
• Bay leaf- 1

Method

Heat 4-5 tbsp oil in a deep frying pan. Temper with the ingredients mentioned for tempering. Add the onion paste. Fry for a minute over medium heat, add ginger-garlic paste. Add cumin powder, turmeric powder and kashmiri mirch powder. Mix and sauté over medium heat until oil separates from the masala. Add freshly washed chicken pieces and green chilies. Mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, keep stirring in-between. Add ¼ cup of hot water and salt. Mix, cover and cook. When the chicken is half cooked add the coconut milk. Mix and cook with lid on until done. Adjust salt if needed. Remove from the heat.

Serve hot with steamed rice, enjoy!