Bedwin’s Signature Chicken Chaap

The memories of the special lunch-box of Biriyani and Chaap that I often sneaked into my house has been so deep in my memories, that I eventually succumbed to the temptation of making it at home the other day.

The biriyani, I saved it for another time, but the Chicken Chaap was a show-stealer, and a dish that served my guests memories of my childhood.

1 whole skinned chicken weighing about 800 gms(cut into 4)
750 gms(a coffee mug and a half) hung curd
Garlic paste(from about 4 whole garlic pods)
Ginger paste ( from about two inches of the rhizome)
Mace/Javithri powder(about 2 large table spoons from 4-5 whole spices)
Freshly ground black pepper powder(2 tablespoons)
Kashmiri Mirch( primarily for the colour-hence about 2 large tablespoons again)
Red Powdered Chilly Powder(2-3 table spoons)
Kewra/Rose water( about 8 teaspoons)
Salt to taste
Ghee/Clarified butter(To shallow fry)
Refined White Oil(To shallow fry)

Hang the curd overnight in a muslin cloth, so that all residual water is drained off. What you need is curd that is devoid of lumps and has a creamy, smooth consistency.
In a large bowl, make a marinade of all the ingredients, except the ghee and the oil, and soak the chicken pieces in it for 4-5 hours.
In a deep-bottomed pan, shallow fry each piece of chicken in a equi-mixture of ghee and oil to cook it evenly golden brown on all sides. Keep aside.

Keep the pan-drippings, and in the same pan, add the marinade thats been left behind in the bowl, and simmer it till the fat starts seperating from the marinade and dawns a crimson orange colour. Add the fried pieces of chicken back to the gravy, making sure there is enough to cover all parts of the meat. Leave it covered on medium flame for about 10-15 mins.
Don’t garnish it with anything( For God’s sake!)
Present it majestically -on a plate of saffron coloured Biriyani rice.

One of the pre-requisites that I had outlined to my parents before they went on a hunt for a ‘suitable-boy’ was that my pincode shouldnt be different (if the in-laws’ house is in Calcutta, i.e). Needs to range between a 700019, and a 700029, for sure. Throughout my childhood I spent an indescribable happy time between the four boundaries of Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Purnadas Road, Dhakuria Bridge and South End Park (extended to Southern Avenue). I ventured only very infrequently beyond these to go anywhere else.The new boundary introduced with the Basu family was Kalighat Metro Station.  And boy, was I glad.

But my memories of Purnadas Road, remain etched. Take the sweet walk.
La Dolce Vita @ Purnadas Road.