Chicken in saffron sauce

Name: Chicken in saffron sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 50 g/2 oz blanched almonds; 675 g/1½lb boned chicken thighs or breast fillets, skinned and cut into 5cm/2in cubes; 675 g/1½lb boned chicken thighs or breast fillets, skinned and cut into 5cm/2in cubes; 10 ml/2 tsp garlic purée; 75 g/3 oz/73 cup full-fat (whole) natural (plain) yogurt; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 4 whole cloves; 10 ml/2 tsp gram flour (besan); 5 ml/1 tsp ground cumin; 10 ml/2 tsp ginger purée; 2.5–5ml/½–1 tsp crushed dried chillies; 7.5 ml/172 tsp ground coriander; 2.5 ml/72 tsp saffron threads, pounded and soaked in 15ml/1 tbsp hot milk; 300 ml/72 pint/1¼ cups full-fat (whole) milk; 2.5 ml/72 tsp garam masala; 2.5 ml/72 tsp saffron threads, pounded and soaked in 15ml/1 tbsp hot milk; 2.5 cm/1 in piece of cinnamon stick; 4 green cardamom pods, split at the top of each pod; 25 g/1 oz ghee or unsalted butter; 25 g/1 oz ghee or unsalted butter; 1–2 fresh green chillies, deseeded and cut into julienne strips, to garnish; naan, to serve

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

The origins of this recipe, Murgh Kalai Kesari, go back to the Mughal era and the ingredients used certainly evoke a time of wealth. Here the sauce is enriched with saffron and freshly made almond purée.

Ingredients

50 g/2 oz blanched almonds
675 g/1½

Asia
India
Central India
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Put the almonds in a small heatproof bowl and pour over 150ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup boiling w