Name: Home-style Tari Wala Murgh
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 375 g Chicken, curry cut, bone-in; 1½ Onion, finely chopped (do not puree); 1 Tomato, roughly chopped or pureed; 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste; 1 Green Chili Pepper, slit; 1 Indian Bay Leaf; ½ inch Cinnamon Sticks; ½ Black Cardamom; ½ tsp Cumin Seeds; ¼ tsp Ground Turmeric; ¾ tsp Red Chilli Powder; ¾ tbsp Ground Coriander; ½ tbsp Chicken Masala, or Garam Masala; 1½ tbsp Cooking Oil, mustard oil preferred; 1¼ cup Water, hot; ¾ tsp Salt, to taste; 1½ tbsp Coriander Leaves, generous handful, chopped

1 hr 10 mintotal

55 min hands-on15 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 40 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: Medium

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Method

Heat mustard oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or pressure cooker until it gently smokes, thereby burning off its sharp rawness. Subsequently, drop the heat.
Introduce the bay leaves, cinnamon, black cardamom, and cumin seeds. Stand back and allow them to crackle and release their essential oils.
Fold in the finely chopped onions. Fry them with extreme patience on medium heat for 10-12 minutes until they achieve a deeply caramelized golden-brown state. (This step is fundamentally non-negotiable for constructing a rich Tari).
10–12 min
Stir in the ginger-garlic paste and slit green chillies. Sauté briskly for 2 minutes to completely cook out the raw garlic aroma.
2 min
Add the chicken and sear it hard on high heat for 7-8 minutes. That seals the outside and builds the brown crust the dish depends on.
7–8 min
Add the tomatoes alongside the turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and salt. Continue cooking for 5 minutes until the tomatoes thoroughly soften and the heavy masala adheres tightly to the chicken.
5 min
Pour in the hot water. The liquid volume should be sufficient to construct a delightfully thin, soup-like gravy known as the signature 'Tari'.
Cover securely and let the pot simmer softly on low heat for 15-20 minutes (or seal and pressure cook for 2 whistles). You are aiming for tender chicken and a layer of infused fat floating elegantly at the surface.
15–20 min
Bloom the chicken masala (or garam masala) into the broth. Leave the pot uncovered and maintain a simmer for a final 2 minutes.
2 min
Conclude by garnishing heavily with freshly chopped coriander. Serve piping hot.

How to tell it's done

Exquisitely tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken completely submerged in a fiery, thin, crimson, and highly savory soup-like broth.

Getting it right

Tip

Standing in direct opposition to heavily creamed restaurant curries, a homestyle 'Tari' (broth) is purposely formulated to be thin and fluid. Its entire flavor architecture relies strictly on deeply browned onions and the rendering of bone-in chicken.

What to serve it with

To experience it at its peak, tear a piece of rustic Roti, submerge it completely into the highly spiced, fluid gravy until saturated, or generously ladle the Tari over a bed of steaming white rice.

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Ingredients