Chicken rezala is a restaurant classic and proudly represents authentic Bengali cuisine on the food map of India! Chicken rezala is one of the most loved and most ordered dishes in restaurants and rightfully so!
Chicken rezala is a very popular chicken curry recipe from my very own Bengali cuisine! You will find this Bengali delicacy in all Bengali restaurants across India and holds a very special place in our heart!
If you haven’t tasted chicken rezala in any authentic Bengali restaurant then you are missing out big time! But worry not, you can use my recipe of chicken rezala and make & enjoy this at the comfort of your home!
Chicken rezala is a magical dish which has the power to boost your mood if you are feeling low and instantly bring a smile on your face. Trust me on this, this is not just any other chicken curry but a truly luxurious affair!
Origin of Chicken Rezala and why it is so special
Chicken rezala has its origin in Mughal era and is an extremely flavorful dish with a very delicate yet mind-blowing aroma. It has the signature white gravy unlike other Indian chicken curries which are typically red or yellow.
The gravy base of chicken rezala is a smooth paste made of poppy seeds (aka posto in Bengali and khus khus in Hindi) and raw cashew nuts which adds immense flavor and richness to the gravy without any addition of cream.
Posto or poppy seeds are widely used in Bengali cuisine. Cashew nuts add creaminess as well as a nutty sweetness which is so unique that you can’t replicate this with anything else. Make sure to soak the cashews and poppy seeds before grinding as it will be easier to blend them once soaked.
Serving Suggestions
I suggest serving the flavorful chicken rezala with plain white Basmati rice; at the same time it also pairs well with a vegetable pulao.
Chicken rezala has a subtle undertone of richness thanks to the whole spices which captures your senses when you devour it, be it with plain rice or pulao. It is enriched with aromatics like ginger, garlic & onion and makes a thick gravy.
You will need to marinade the chicken with each of the aromatics and also add them additionally while making the gravy. All these will create the curry base of chicken rezala and finally you will end up with one of the richest & tastiest chicken curries.
This classic restaurant style recipe will come in handy to recreate restaurant-like menu and ambience right inside your home without any compromise!
Ingredients for Chicken Rezala
Chicken rezala is a celebratory dish and like any other special Indian dish, this one also has a long list of spices. If you are frequent in making Indian dishes at home, I am sure you will already have everything handy!
Chicken: For making chicken rezala, get the typical curry cut of chicken in medium pieces. Curry cut is nothing but the whole chicken cut into pieces keeping the bone intact. Also, use skinless chicken for this.
Curd/yogurt: Plain curd or yogurt is the primary flavor binder for your chicken rezala. Use thick curd if possible (even Greek yogurt will also work well).
Ginger paste/Garlic paste: The 2 indispensable aromatics for any Indian dish are required in generous amounts.
Onion: Onion is needed to make the base of the gravy and impart mild sweetness to it. Make a paste of the onion to use while marinating the chicken and also to make the gravy.
Green chilli: A few green chillies for that mild kick of heat but you may skip this if you are not fond of anything spicy.
Ghee/clarified butter: Ghee is that magic Indian ingredient which turns any dish from ordinary to magnificent.
Mustard oil/Vegetable Oil: Since this is a dish from Bengali cuisine, a food-lover state in eastern India, I would recommend using mustard oil for cooking your chicken rezala as we Bengalis primarily use mustard oil for most of our cooking.
Whole spices: Now comes the list of whole spices which will make a mind-blowing chicken rezala and make your family fall in love with your culinary skill! You will need bay leaf aka tej pattta, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, whole black peppercorns, dry red chillies, cumin powder and black pepper powder. The amalgamation of all these spices will create an almost incredible magical flavor!
Poppy seeds/khus khus/posto dana: White poppy seeds is one of the 2 star ingredients of this dish. Poppy seed or as we call it ‘posto’ in Bengali is a very fine seed and when soaked & ground with water, becomes creamy and extremely tasty & flavorful. This is a must have ingredient for your chicken rezala.
Cashew nuts: The second star ingredient of chicken rezala is cashew nuts which, along with poppy seeds, is primarily responsible for the signature white gravy of chicken rezala. You can use broken cashews as you will ultimately need to make a paste of it after soaking them in water along with poppy seeds.
Garam masala: A quick sprinkle of homemade garam masala will add the final warmth to your chicken rezala.
Sugar & Salt: Chicken rezala is not a spicy dish; on the contrary it is slightly on the sweeter side with the right amount of warmth from all the whole spices. So you will need little sugar to bring out all the flavors from all of the spices mentioned above. Along with that, the right amount of seasoning as per your taste will complete the dish.
Kewra water/screwpine essence: To transform your homestyle chicken rezala to a restaurant style one, you will need this soulful essence which is used in many flagship Indian dishes. Just a few drops of kewra water will ignite your senses like nothing else!
Saffron strands: Finally round up your chicken rezala with just a few strands of soaked saffron which will not only add to aesthetic but will also impart a mild golden hue!
How to make Chicken Rezala?
Step 1: Wash the chicken thoroughly and drain out all the water completely. Take the chicken in a large bowl and add all the marinating ingredients – curd/yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, black pepper powder, onion paste and salt to the same bowl.
Step 2: Mix all the ingredients thoroughly with the chicken so that all aromatics like ginger, garlic & onion pastes are mixed evenly and all pieces of chicken are coated on all sides. Set it aside for 30 minutes to an hour.
Step 3: Meanwhile, drain the water out from soaked poppy seeds and cashew nuts and grind them together to make a smooth paste. You may add a little water to grind them smoothly; set it aside.
Step 4: After about an hour, heat a large frying pan and add 4 tablespoons of mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken pieces but without the marinating liquid. We are only searing the chicken in this step to develop the flavor; any extra liquid will prevent proper searing.
Lift one chicken piece at a time and let the extra liquid drip off, then add the chicken to the hot oil. Do NOT discard the marinating liquid.
Step 5: Sauté the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side on medium heat until a beautiful golden brown color is developed on each side. Take them out on a plate and set aside until needed.
Step 6: Now heat a large kadai or wok. Once hot, add the leftover oil from the frying pan in which you sautéed the chicken, that is a flavor powerhouse!
Step 7: Also add the ghee to the wok and let it warm up. Then temper the ghee with bay leaves, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, black peppercorn and dry red chillies. Sauté them for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
Step 8: Now add the onion paste and sauté them on medium flame for 15 minutes until the onion paste changes the color a little.
Step 9: Next add ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilies and mix everything well. Let the ginger & garlic pastes cook until the raw smell is gone, about 8 to 10 minutes on low flame.
Step 10: Then add cumin powder, black pepper powder and the poppy seed & cashew nut paste which you had prepared earlier. Give everything a good mix and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Step 11: Now add the seared chicken pieces along with all the accumulated juice on the plate to the kadai. Stir well to mix the chicken with the gravy base.
Step 12: Continue to cook the chicken on medium flame for 15 more minutes until oil starts to release. Now add the marinating liquid which was left from the chicken marinade and also 1 cup of additional water.
Step 13: Add sugar and season with salt to taste. Mix everything well and bring the gravy to a boil. Then lower the heat and cover the wok to simmer the chicken in the gravy for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Step 14: Once the chicken is completely cooked, check the consistency of the gravy. If it’s too thick add a little more water and bring to boil; if it’s too watery, then boil off excess liquid keeping the flame on high. Check and adjust for seasoning if needed.
Step 15: Finally add garam masala, saffron strands and kewra water and give a final mix. Switch off the flame, cover the wok and let the curry sit for 15 minutes before serving. Your luxurious chicken rezala is ready to serve!
Other Restaurant Style Indian dishes you will love!
- Mutton Sukka Restaurant Style
- Restaurant Style Chicken Jalfrezi
- Restaurant Style Chicken Handi
- Restaurant Style Paneer Dopyaza
- Chicken – 1 kg, skinless and curry cut into medium to small pieces
- Curd/yogurt – 1 cup
- Ginger paste – 1 tsp
- Garlic paste – 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
- Onion paste – 1 tbsp
- Salt – 1 tsp
- Ghee/clarified butter – 2 tbsp
- Mustard Oil/Vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
- Bay leaf/tej pattta – 2
- Green cardamom – 3 to 4
- Cloves – 5 to 6
- Cinnamon stick – 2 inch piece
- Black peppercorns – 10 to 12
- Dry red chillies – 2, split
- Onion – 3, large, ground to a smooth paste without water
- Garlic paste – 1 tsp
- Ginger paste – 1 tsp
- Green chillies – 4, slit lengthwise
- Cumin powder – 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder – ½ tsp
- Poppy seeds/khus khus/posto dana – 1 tbsp, soaked in water for 15 mins
- Cashew nuts – 1 tbsp, raw, soaked in water for 15 mins
- Garam masala – ½ tsp
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Kewra water/screwpine essence – 1 tsp
- Saffron strands – 10 to 15
- Wash the chicken thoroughly and drain out all the water completely. Take the chicken in a large bowl and add all the ingredients listed under marinade to the same bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients thoroughly with the chicken so that all aromatics like ginger, garlic & onion pastes are mixed evenly and all pieces of chicken are coated on all sides. Set it aside for 30 minutes to an hour.
- Meanwhile, drain the water out from poppy seeds and cashew nuts and grind them together to make a smooth paste. You may add a little water to grind them smoothly.
- After about an hour, heat a large frying pan and add 4 tablespoons of mustard oil. Once the oil is hot, add the marinated chicken pieces but without the marinating liquid. Lift one chicken piece at a time and let the extra liquid drip off, then add the chicken to the hot oil. Do NOT discard the marinating liquid.
- Sauté the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes per side on medium heat until a beautiful golden brown color is developed on each side. Take them out on a plate and set aside until needed.
- Now heat a large kadai or wok. Once hot, add the leftover oil from the frying pan in which you sautéed the chicken.
- Also add the ghee to the wok and let it warm up. Then temper the ghee with bay leaves, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon stick, black peppercorn and dry red chillies. Sauté them for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
- Now add the onion paste and sauté them on medium flame for 15 minutes until the onion paste changes the color a little.
- Next add ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilies and mix everything well. Let the ginger & garlic pastes cook until the raw smell is gone.
- Then add cumin powder, black pepper powder and the poppy seed & cashew nut paste which you had prepared earlier. Give everything a good mix and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat.
- Now add the seared chicken pieces along with all the accumulated juice on the plate to the kadai. Stir well to mix the chicken with the gravy base.
- Continue to cook the chicken on medium flame for 15 more minutes until oil starts to release. Now add the marinating liquid which was left from the chicken along with 1 cup of water.
- Add sugar and season with salt to taste. Mix everything well and bring the gravy to a boil. Then lower the heat and cover the wok to simmer the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes or until cooked through.
- Once the chicken is completely cooked, check the consistency of the gravy and adjust if necessary. Check and adjust for seasoning if needed.
- Finally add garam masala, saffron strands and kewra water and give a final mix. Switch off the flame, cover the wok and let the curry sit for 15 minutes before serving.
- Your luxurious chicken rezala is ready to serve! Devour it with plain white rice or your favorite veg pulao. Enjoy!
Liked the recipe? Let us know!