Bengali Chicken Curry

Name: Bengali Chicken Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: Serves: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste; 2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional, or reduce); ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 white onion, blended into a paste with 1 green chilli (chilli is optional); 250 g/9 oz/1 cup Greek yogurt; ½ tsp salt; 2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste; 4 skinless chicken leg quarters; 4–5 tbsp neutral oil; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (optional); 150 ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup whole milk, with a few strands of saffron soaked in the milk for 20 minutes; 150 ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup whole milk, with a few strands of saffron soaked in the milk for 20 minutes; 1 tsp gram flour, toasted; 2.5 cm/1 in cinnamon stick; 1 tsp ground cumin; 2 tsp garam masala; 1 mace blade; 4 green cardamom pods; 3–4 black peppercorns; 2–3 cloves; 1 brown cardamom pod, seeds only; A few fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, chopped, to garnish; 1 tsp garam masala, to garnish; ¼ tsp rose water (optional); 150 ml/5fl oz/⅔ cup warm water; 1 white onion, blended into a paste with 1 green chilli (chilli is optional); 1 white onion, blended into a paste with 1 green chilli (chilli is optional)

Murgi Chaap

Preparation info

Serves:
4

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 10

Appears in

No Worries, Just Chicken Curries

By Suki Pantal

Published 2025

About

A Kolkata special, chicken chaap or chanp is a delicious relic left behind by the Nawabs of the 18th century in West Bengal. The chicken dish is as opulent as its maker and is laden with fragrant spices, nuts, saffron and milk. Over time, it became a staple dish enjoyed by the general populace in restaurants and at home. Today, no restaurant worth its salt in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta, and capital of West Bengal) doesn’t offer chicken chaap to go with its biryanis.

The name chaap i

Ingredients

Asia
India
Kolkata
West Bengal
Main course
Gluten-free

Bengali Chicken Curry

Murgi Chaap

Ingredients

Method

Photos