Chicken Mumtaz (Murgh Mumtaz) Mahal from the the princely state of Sailana is a royal delicacy cooked with khoya (reduced milk solids) and saffron.

A month ago my husband had gifted me a beautiful book “Dining with the Maharajas” by Neha Prasada and Ashima Narain in which I found this Chicken Mumtaz Receipe. The book is a treasure trove of culinary history and walks you through a kaleidoscope of the culinary traditions of the royal families as narrated by their current titular scions. It is a glimpse into the slow life of the nawabs and the rajas. Delving into that sepia world with the beautiful illustrations and anecdotes is a complete treat to your own self especially if you are a sucker for food history. My favorite thing to do since receiving this book has been to sit with it by the big window in my living room every evening for at least 15 mins and flip through it as I sip my coffee. Actually, it is a perfect coffee table book too.

Chicken Mumtaz Recipe - Murgh Mumtaz Mahal — Chicken Mumtaz Recipe – Murgh Mumtaz Mahal

This particular recipe, as I said, is from Sailana. Sailana is a princely state in central India, now Madhya Pradesh and had been ruled by Hindu Kings. The state of Sailana particularly stands out when it comes to preserving the royal recipes. Maharaja Digvijay Singh of Sailana had realized the importance of documenting the royal culinary history and he took it upon him to collect thousands of well guarded recipes from the various royal families of India. It was much later that these recipes were published in a book called “Cooking Delights of the Maharajas”.

Chicken Mumtaz Mahal Recipe – Step by Step

Murgh Mumtaz Mahal From the State of Sailana

Prep Time: 20
Total Time: 50

Print Recipe

Description

A slow-cooked, saffron infused chicken curry from the princely state of Sailana. Try this Chicken Mumtaz Receipe now and cook some sizzling hot chicken for your meal now.

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 pound
Ghee – 3/4 cup
Onion – 1, large, thinly sliced
Onion – 1/2 , large, chopped fine
Ginger – 1 inch, thinly sliced
Khoya – 2 tbsp ( wholemilk fudge)
Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Coriander Powder – 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds – 11/2 tsp
Salt – To taste
Sugar – ToTaste
Yogurt – 2/3 cup
Cashew Nut Paste – 3 tbsp
Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp
Screwpine (Kewda) water – 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp
Saffron (Kesar) – 1 pinch, soaked in 2 tbsp warm milk

Instructions

Heat the ghee in a frying pan.
Add the onion and fry over medium heat until it becomes brown and crisps up. This step takes 8-10 mins. Make sure to fry over medium heat and be mindful, onions burn very quickly. Once done, remove and set aside on a paper towel.
In the same ghee add the ginger and fry till it crisps up.
Crush the onion and ginger and set aside.
In the same ghee, now add the jeera(cumin seeds) and let it get fragrant.
Add the chopped onion and fry till it looks translucent pink.
Add the chicken pieces and lightly saute and cook for 3-4 mins.
Add the khoya, red chilies, coriander powder and the red chili powder. Mix it in. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Now add 11/4 cups of water , cover the pan with a lid and cook the chicken.
When half-cooked, add the yogurt and salt. Mix in immediately and cook with the lid on.
When the chicken looks tender ( in about 3-4 mins for me) after adding the yogurt, remove the lid. Add the remaining ingredients and let it cook.
Cover with the lid again and seal the edges of the pan. Place on a heated tawa or pan, and cook in “dum”for another 8-10 mins. All liquid will be evaporated and only ghee will remain.
Add the crushed fried onions and ginger and serve it alongside rotis/naans.

Notes

The chicken may be marinated with some lemon juice and red chili powder for about a couple of hours if you wish.
I garnished the curry with boiled eggs but this is optional.
I add a dash of rose water also and that too is optional.
And the recipe does not call for it but I also added a couple of dried red chilies along with the cumin seeds or jeera for tempering. This is optional.
Also, the time required to cook the chicken may vary depending on a lot of factors, like quality of the chicken, what temperature you are cooking in etc.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 4
Calories: 0
Sugar: 0
Sodium: 0
Fat: 0
Saturated Fat: 0
Unsaturated Fat: 0
Trans Fat: 0
Carbohydrates: 0
Protein: 0
Cholesterol: 0

Keywords: Chicken Mumtaz Recipe, Murgh Mumtaz Mahal

The thing that distinctly stands out in this book and quite understandably is the usage of fruits, nuts and spices which probably were a far cry for the masses back then. Dried nuts and fruits, meetha ittar ( edible aromatic oils), expensive spices like saffron etc were for the pleasures of the rich and wealthy and a lot of the recipes in this book includes such ingredients. Also, goat or lamb were the meat of choice and about 80% of the recipes made use of them.

I got started on my journey of recreating the royal recipes from this book with chicken mumtaz recipe. A working mom like me can never have too many chicken recipes in her arsenal 😊

This dish is called Murgh Mumtaz Mahal and probably it was taken to the kitchens of Sailana by a khansama from the royal kitchen in Delhi. The dish may have been created in memory of Mumtaz Mahal, Emperor Shahjahan’s wife but I have not found any similar claim in this book or elsewhere.

Whatever it is, the dish indeed looks and tastes royal with the usage of good quality kesar(saffron) and khoya.

Chicken Mumtaz Recipe – Sizzling Murgh Mumtaz Mahal