Murgh musallam . A delicate touch of royalty makes all the difference with this recipe. This delicious dish channels the very best of classic Mughlai flavors of saffron and spice infused tender chicken cooked in scrumptious sauce. Read on, there’s a lot more to love about this perfect pot roast.
Why I Love This Chicken Pot Roast
While I’m pretty sure you have the perfect recipe for roast chicken, I want to introduce you to the classic Mughlai way of cooking whole chicken. It’s sort of pot roast or braised chicken with a beautiful sauce. The flavors turn absolutely amazing with a few strands of exotic saffron and kewra water. Here’s what you need to know about cooking the most delicious chicken ever, with fall-apart, succulent meat and plenty of sauce to dip in the fluffy naans.
Key Ingredients In Murgh Musallam
- Whole chicken - Cook on a slow mode for fall-apart deliciousness.
- Saffron - A few strands turn this into an exotic dish.
- Kewra water - The floral extracts add the classic Mughlai touch.
- Spices - Thus includes whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom, and powdered spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin, fennel, garam masala and red chili powder.
How To Make Murgh Musallam
Marinate chicken - Before marinating, make sure to pat dry chicken. The marinade is a mixture of yogurt, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and spices. You can also add fresh lemon juice to the marinade. You will only need half of the yogurt paste to marinate chicken and the remaining goes into the sauce.
Cook - Use a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven to make this dish. I made the sauce over stovetop and transferred the pan to the oven to bake the chicken. First, brown the chicken on both sides. Then, fry the whole spices before sauteing the powdered spices.
To make the sauce, you will need to add the remaining marinade alongside chicken broth (stock), saffron strands and kewra water. The latter ingredients are unique with Mughlai cuisine, so don’t skip them. Place chicken in this sauce.
At this stage, you can either bake or cook over stovetop top. I prefer the former method in which you will need to cover the pan with lid, and slow cook. In the final 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid and let the chicken get that beautiful golden brown color.
Ingredients
Marinade:
- ▢ 1.6 kg whole chicken
- ▢ ¾ cup yogurt
- ▢ 3 tablespoons pureed tomatoes or tomato paste
- ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ▢ 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ▢ 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ Juice from 1 large lemon
- ▢ 1 hard boiled egg peeled
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken musallam:
- ▢ 3 tablespoons oil
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
- ▢ 3 cloves
- ▢ 2 cardamom pods
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 2 cups chicken broth (stock)
- ▢ 4-5 saffron strands
- ▢ 1 teaspoon kewra water
- ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- ▢ Salt to taste
Garnish:
- ▢ Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- ▢ Lemon wedges
Serve:
- ▢ Rice or naan
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry chicken with paper towel.
- To make the marinade, combine together yogurt, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, coriander, red chili powder and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Rub half of the marinade over chicken. If time permits, marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place egg in the cavity of chicken.
- Tie legs with kitchen string to secure them in place. Tuck arms underneath the breast.
- When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in an oven-safe heavy bottomed pan with lid or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- When hot, place chicken in oil. Cook for about 4 minutes or until well browned.
- Flip over and cook the other side for about 4 minutes or until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods. Saute, stirring, for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add turmeric, cumin, fennel, coriander, garam masala and red chili powder. Saute, stirring, for a few seconds or until aromatic.
- Add reserved marinade, chicken broth (stock), saffron and kewra water. Stir to combine. Season with salt. Simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Place the chicken, breast side up, in the pan. Add chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.
- Cover the pan with lid. Transfer to the oven. Cook for about 1 hour.
- Remove lid. Increase the oven temperature to 200 C or 400 F.
- Cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken gets a light brown color, and the inside of the chicken registers 74 C or 165 F on a meat thermometer.
- Remove from oven. Set aside for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves. Serve with the side of your choice.
Video
Notes
- More serving suggestions - Apart from rice or naan, you can also serve this chicken with tortillas, roast potatoes, green beans stir fry, steamed veggies, or in tacos.
- Extras - You can add chopped root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots or turnips to the pan.
- Cook chicken over stovetop - To make this over stovetop, braise chicken for about 1 hour or until cooked through.
Nutrition
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Check out more whole chicken recipes:
- Malabar Roast Chicken | Kozhi Nirachathu
- Portuguese Chicken | Peri Peri (Piri Piri) Chicken
- Jamie Oliver’s Empire Roast Chicken
- Tandoori Roast Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade:
- ▢ 1.6 kg whole chicken
- ▢ ¾ cup yogurt
- ▢ 3 tablespoons pureed tomatoes or tomato paste
- ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ▢ 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- ▢ 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ Juice from 1 large lemon
- ▢ 1 hard boiled egg peeled
- ▢ Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken musallam:
- ▢ 3 tablespoons oil
- ▢ 1 bay leaf
- ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
- ▢ 3 cloves
- ▢ 2 cardamom pods
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ▢ 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 2 cups chicken broth (stock)
- ▢ 4-5 saffron strands
- ▢ 1 teaspoon kewra water
- ▢ 2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- ▢ Salt to taste
Garnish:
- ▢ Chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
- ▢ Lemon wedges
Serve:
- ▢ Rice or naan
Instructions
- Rinse and pat dry chicken with paper towel.
- To make the marinade, combine together yogurt, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, coriander, red chili powder and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Rub half of the marinade over chicken. If time permits, marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place egg in the cavity of chicken.
- Tie legs with kitchen string to secure them in place. Tuck arms underneath the breast.
- When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in an oven-safe heavy bottomed pan with lid or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- When hot, place chicken in oil. Cook for about 4 minutes or until well browned.
- Flip over and cook the other side for about 4 minutes or until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods. Saute, stirring, for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add turmeric, cumin, fennel, coriander, garam masala and red chili powder. Saute, stirring, for a few seconds or until aromatic.
- Add reserved marinade, chicken broth (stock), saffron and kewra water. Stir to combine. Season with salt. Simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Place the chicken, breast side up, in the pan. Add chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.
- Cover the pan with lid. Transfer to the oven. Cook for about 1 hour.
- Remove lid. Increase the oven temperature to 200 C or 400 F.
- Cook for another 30 minutes, or until the chicken gets a light brown color, and the inside of the chicken registers 74 C or 165 F on a meat thermometer.
- Remove from oven. Set aside for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves. Serve with the side of your choice.
Video
Notes
- More serving suggestions - Apart from rice or naan, you can also serve this chicken with tortillas, roast potatoes, green beans stir fry, steamed veggies, or in tacos.
- Extras - You can add chopped root veggies like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots or turnips to the pan.
- Cook chicken over stovetop - To make this over stovetop, braise chicken for about 1 hour or until cooked through.
