Easy & Delicious Afghani Malai Chicken Recipe For You To Make At Home

A popular dish, originating from Afghani cuisine, Afghani malai chicken is prepared from succulent chicken pieces which are fried and marinated in a creamy, white sauce. It is a dish that chicken lovers absolutely cannot resist. The Afghani malai chicken recipe is an old favourite that goes best with naan, roti or even rice. With its Persian influences, malai chicken can be prepared in a number of ways, but the traditional recipe consists of yoghurt, cream and a blend of cashews, almonds and various spices. With a mellow and subtle taste, the murg malai recipe is best served with the quintessential mint chutney. Quite an easy and simple recipe to make at home, check out this mouthwatering recipe of malai chicken at home.

Ingredients for Afghani malai chicken

For marination:

1. 600 grams chicken with bones
2. 1 tsp salt
3. ½ tsp black pepper
4. ½ tsp garam masala
5. ½ tsp chaat masala
6. ½ tsp kasuri methi
7. 1 tbsp lemon juice
8. 2 cloves

For making the paste:

1. 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2. 2 medium sized onions
3. 8 cashew nuts
4. 100 grams of yoghurt
5. 4-5 green chilies
6. A handful of coriander leaves

For preparing the gravy:

1. 50 ml cream
2. 50 ml milk
3. 2 cardamom
4. 100 ml water
5. 1 cinnamon
6. ½ tsp cumin seeds
7. Oil

Steps for preparing Afghani malai chicken

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with the ingredients as mentioned under marination.
2. Grind the required ingredients for the paste.
3. Add the paste mixture to the marinated chicken and leave it at rest for at least half an hour.
4. Take out the chicken pieces from the marination, and shallow fry the pieces in a frying pan with little oil. 
5. Reserve the marinated paste for later.
6. Pour milk and cream into the marination mixture and combine well. 
7. In a pan, add oil, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and cloves. Then add the marinated mixture in the same pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
8. When the water from the marination dries up, add in water, and check salt content as per your taste.
9. Add the fried chicken to the gravy in the pan,cover it and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes. 
10. Add coriander leaves before serving.

Pro tip: Add 2 green chillies in the paste, and 2 slit green chillies later while cooking the gravy in order to attain the perfect spice level.

FAQs

1. Is there an alternative ingredient for cashews?
Instead of cashews, you can use blanched almonds and melon seeds. It helps in adding richness to the dish.

2. Is it necessary to add fresh cream?
If you do not want to, you can skip adding fresh cream to the dish.

3. What should be the ideal spice level for the dish?
Spice levels can be adjusted according to your preference. You can increase or decrease the number of green chillies as per your spice tolerance.