Bhuna Chicken Roast | Chicken Bhuna Masala
Chicken Bhuna or Bhuna Chicken is a “dry curry,” meaning the masala adheres to the chicken rather than the chicken in liquid sauce.
What does “Bhuno the masala” means?
Bhuno (boo-na) is one of the slow frying methods used in Indian cooking; it simply means “to roast or simmer the masala well,” and it usually refers to the spices. It’s important to have a good bhuno technique to prepare delicious Indian food.
Bhuna is a cooking method in which onions, tomatoes, and meat are cooked over high heat, stirring constantly until the liquid has evaporated. Adding salt to onions while sauteing speeds up the browning process.
After adding the ingredients, cook it over medium heat, stirring frequently, ‘bhuno’ the masala before moving on to the next step. If the masala starts to stick to the pan as water evaporates add few tablespoons of water, allow enough time and wait for the water to evaporate.
If you don’t do it correctly or skip the step, the spices won’t be cooked properly, and you’ll be able to taste the rawness of the spices in the end. To prevent the masala from burning while frying, keep stirring frequently and add a few drops of water needed. Also, keep an eye on the temperature so it doesn’t burn.
How To Check When It is Ready…
Drops of oil will begin to separate from the remainder of the mixture after 5 to 10 minutes of frying. This is a sign that the bhooning process has begun. Now you can add the chicken and needed water to make a delicious chicken roast.
Ingredients For Bhuno Style Indian Chicken Roast…
So, let’s check the ingredients. You’ll need the following ingredients to prepare this Chicken Roast:
- Bone in Chicken
- Mustard seed
- whole red chilies
- Kashmiri chili powder
- Turmeric powder
- Coriander powder
- Whole Coriander Seeds
- Whole Black Peppercorns
- Fennel Seeds
- Cardamom
- Cloves
- Cumin Seeds
- Ginger/Garlic paste
- Tomatoes
- Green chilies
- Onion, finely chopped
- Red Chili powder
- Ghee, use ghee or oil, ghee has more rich flavour
Chicken Bhuna Masala
Ingredients
Marinate Chicken
- 500 gram bone in chicken
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
Prepare Fresh Masala Powder
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp whole black pepper
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamoms
For the Gravy
- 2 tablespoon oil or ghee
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 dry red chilies
- 3 medium onion finely chopped onion
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 medium tomato puree
- 1 tsp chili powder Adjust to your taste and heat tolerance.
- 1 tsp (optional)Kashmiri chili powder or deggi mirch Kashmiri chili powder gives Chilli Flavor without the extreme heat!
- 1 green chilli, chopped Optional, Adjust to your heat tolerance
- 3 tbsp yogurt
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
Instructions
Marinate Chicken
- Clean the chicken pieces and marinate them with the ingredients indicated under marination. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
- Cut the onion into very small pieces.
- Puree 2 medium tomatoes and keep it aside.
Prepare Ground Masala Powder
- Heat a pan without any oil, dry roast 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp whole pepper corns, 3 cloves, 4 green cardamom over low heat for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Add the spices in to blender and grind them in to fine powder.
Pan Fry Chicken
- In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot add marinated chicken, fry 3-4 minutes on high heat. Remove the chicken and keep it aside.
Make Gravy
- In a pan, heat 4 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 dry red chilies. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add 3 medium onion chopped and 1/2 tsp salt
- Saute the onion until it is golden brown color, about 10 mins on medium heat, stirring often. It takes time to brown the onion and this gives a nice flavor to the curry.
- When onion is light brown, add chopped green chilies, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, and saute for 2 mins on low heat until the onion is golden brown. Add 2 tablespoons of water and "bhuno" the masala mixture, allow the onion to brown nicely.
- Add 3 medium tomato puree and let it come to a boil. Saute 3 minutes over medium heat, cook until the oil begins to separate. Add 2 tablespoons of water and let all water evaporates.
- Add half-fried chicken and fry 1 min on high heat.
- Add 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder, and ground masala powder. Saute 2-3 mins on medium heat and then reduce heat to low and fry for another 3 mins.
- Add 3 tbsp yogurt and cook until oil separates over medium-low heat. 3-5 minutes. If you like gravy, add 1/2 cup water.
- cover and cook for 10 min on low heat or until the chicken is soft and cooked well, stir once after 5 mins.
- Check salt and spices, adjust to your taste
- Add 2 tbsp chopped coriander and stir all together. Simmer for 2 mins.
- Serve with Basmati rice, Naan, chapathi etc.
Notes
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