Kolkata-style Chicken Rezala is a rich, creamy chicken dish slowly cooked in yoghurt, nut paste and special spices. As per Indian history, rezala is also an authentic dish of the Mughals and Kolkata got this recipe during the Mughal period in Bengal. Many restaurants in Kolkata still prepare all types of rezala with variations. Chicken Rezala is a chicken curry simmered in a fragrant creamy gravy with different flavours. The curry is mildly hot and there is no milk or cream used in this curry. It is a beautifully rich dish that combines a selection of spices, nut paste, and kewra essence to produce a very fragrant dish.
Table of Contents
1. About the recipe
2. Ingredients
3. Step by Step method
4. Tips
1. About the recipe
Chicken Rezala is a special dish of West Bengal and is certainly one of its kind with quite standard Nawabi notes. It is slightly on the sweeter side, creamy and full of flavours. The gravy’s creaminess comes from using cashew and poppy seeds paste. The colour of the gravy is white due to the use of white ingredients, mainly yoghurt, cashew, and poppy seeds paste. The spiciness of the curry comes from white pepper powder and green chillies. No turmeric and red chilli powder is used in this curry. When the dish is cooked,a thin layer of fat is separated from the gravy, indicating its authenticity and rich taste.
After Kolkata Style Biryani, I got interested in Bengali Cuisine. Bengali Cuisine is rich and flavourful, using a variety of spices and fresh ingredients. Here, I am sharing with you a recipe for flavourful Chicken Rezala in Kolkata Style.
Let’s Start Cooking!
Serving Suggestion: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
2. Ingredients
Marination of Chicken
- 500 gm chicken (curry cut)
- 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
- 150 gm yoghurt
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon of white pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon of ghee or butter
Special Masala for Rezala
- 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 6 to 7 green cardamom
- 2 to 3 mace twigs
- A small piece of Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
Ingredients for Rezala gravy
- 2 medium size onion(paste)
- 3 to 4 green chilli(paste)
- 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon of cashew nuts
- 2 to 3 whole red chilli
- 2 to 3 bay leaves
- Cinnamon sticks
- 2 to 3 clove
- 4 tablespoons of ghee
- Few strands of saffron
- 3 to 4 drops of kewra essence
3 . Step by Step method
Marination of Chicken
- Wash and clean the chicken pieces(for this recipe, I am using curry-cut chicken). Chicken with bones is a must for the best flavours. Add yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, salt and 1 tablespoon of ghee to the chicken. Mix all the ingredients well and leave in the fridge for a few hours. You can leave this marinated chicken overnight also for more flavour.
Toast the whole spices.
- Put all the spices mentioned for Rezala in a wok or kadhai and saute them for a few seconds until fragrant.
Preparation of white gravy
- Put onion and green chillies with two tablespoons of water in a blender and blend them into a fine paste.
- Soaked poppy seeds and cashew nuts for a few hours. Grind both ( poppy seeds and cashew nuts) on high speed to a very fine paste. Add water if needed.
- Add the ghee in a kadhai or deep pan and warm it on medium heat. Temper the ghee with bay leaves, red chilli, cloves, and green cardamom and saute for a few seconds.
- Now add onion and green chilli paste and fry them on medium heat. Saute the onion paste until the oil is separating from the gravy and the gravy turns slightly brown.
- Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a few seconds.
- Reduce the heat and add marinated chicken and salt. Fry for a few seconds. You can add a saffron strand at this stage.
- Mix all the ingredients very well.
- Stir the chicken continuously for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add Special Rezala Masala, mix well, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, Open the lid and stir the chicken. You will notice gravy forming from the water of the yoghurt and chicken pieces. Add poppy seeds and cashew nuts paste with a little water.
- Stir to combine, cover and cook for another 15 minutes on low flame.
- Add a few drops of kewra essence and a little sugar at the end of cooking, and cover the pan.
- You will notice a thin layer of fat separate from the gravy’s top and sides. Simmer for 5 minutes more.
- Rezala gravy is not runny at all, so no extra water is needed.
- Serve this amazingly flavourful chicken dish with Roti, Paratha or Rice.
4. Tips
- Always use chicken with bones for this recipe. It gives more flavour.
- Marination of Chicken is a must.
- The use of ghee will give an authentic taste to the curry.
- You can replace white pepper with black pepper if you are not very particular about colour.
- The use of ghee during marination will give richness to the dish.
- You can avoid using sugar if you don’t want your gravy to be sweet.
- You can replace the cashews with almonds.
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