A non-veg Delhi favourite, Chicken Changezi is roasted chicken cooked with tomato, ginger, garlic, onions, green chilies, fresh coriander (cilantro), spices and plenty of oil, until it’s packed with spicy flavour and is richly red in colour. Its roots are Punjabi and its name is possibly connected to Genghis (aka Changez) Khan, though we can only guess how or why. Sure, the Mughals were descended from a sect of Mongols — going back a few centuries — or maybe the dish’s bright hue and strong spice profile is meant to evoke a ruthless conqueror with a red-hot temper? Seems a bit of a stretch, we know. But all you need to know is: It’s absolutely delicious.
HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients:
• 150gm chicken
• 20gm ginger garlic paste
• 2gm yellow Chilli powder
• 5gm coriander powder
• 2gm (clove/cardamom/mace)
• 20gm curd
• 30gm ghee
• 5gm fresh mint leaveseam
Making the paste
• 10gm almond
• 5gm cashewnut
• 10gm desiccated coconut
• 10gm fried onion
• 10gm chironjee
METHOD
• Broil all the above ingredients to make a paste.
• Heat oil put whole spice with chicken to saute with ginger, garlic paste.
• Add yellow chilli and coriander powder and paste to cook until masala leaves the fat add beaten curd and cook until chicken get well done.
• Finish with cream and fried onion.
• Serve hot with Indian breads.
— Chef Alam Afroz is the Sous Chef at Purani Dilli, Four Points by Sheraton, Downtown in Dubai.
