Chicken Bharta

Shredding chicken
• Add all ingredients for cooking chicken to a pressure cooker and after the first whistle, cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Allow to depressurise by itself.
750 gms chicken,1 ½ teaspoons vinegar,1 ½ teaspoons ginger garlic paste,¼ teaspoon salt,¾ cup water
• Drain chicken pieces & reserve the stock for use later. This should yield approx. ⅓ cup of chicken stock.
• Chop chicken into 1 cm length and ¼ cm wide cubes. Do not shred the chicken as they turn mushy while cooking. Set aside.

For the cashew – poppy seed paste
• Add all the ingredients mentioned for cashew poppy seed paste to a mixer grinder and grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.
¼ cup broken cashews,2 tablespoons poppy seeds,⅓ cup water

For the bharta
• Heat oil & ghee in a pan, add shahi jeera & all the whole spices given for the bharta and when they sizzle, add onions.
1 ½ tablespoons cooking oil,3 tablespoons ghee,1 teaspoon shahi jeera,2 bay leaves,1 ½ inch cinnamon stick,6 cloves,3 green cardamoms,10 peppercorns,¾ cups finely chopped onions
• When onions turn light brown, add ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add red chilli powder, kashmiri chilli powder, coriander powder, jeera powder and fry for a minute.
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste,½ teaspoon red chilli powder,1 ½ teaspoons kashmiri chilli powder,1 ½ teaspoons coriander powder,¾ teaspoon cumin powder
• Add tomato puree and fry for 6-8 minutes till oil & ghee separates from the sides of the pan.
¾ cup tomato puree
• Add cashew – poppy seed paste & whisked curds and fry for 4-5 minutes till oil separates from the sides of the pan.
3 tablespoon curds

• Add the reserved chicken stock & boil for a minute.
• Add chopped chicken, mix well & cook for 5 minutes.
• Add ⅓ cup water to adjust the consistency & boil for a minute.
⅓ cup water
• Add green chillies, ginger, garam masala powder & chopped eggs & cook for a minute.
2 green chillies finely chopped,1 inch ginger finely chopped,¼ teaspoon garam masala powder,3 boiled eggs
• Add kasuri methi, fresh cream & coriander leaves, give it a good mix, take off the heat. While the bhartha is still hot, follow the smoking instructions.
3 teaspoons kasuri methi,1 ½ tablespoons fresh cream,3 tablespoons coriander leaves

smoking bharta
• Place charcoal on the gas flame and heat it for 5-7 minutes till it turns red.
2-3 inches long charcoal
• Meanwhile, keep a steel bowl in the centre of the bharta pan & make sure that the pan has a proper lid to trap the smoke.
• Hold the hot charcoal with tongs and put it in the bowl, pour oil on it and immediately cover the lid. Rest it for 3 minutes, discard the charcoal bowl and serve the bharta.