Malvani chicken curry

Marinate the chicken with ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and lemon juice for 1 hour.

Heat a pan with 1 tbsp oil, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, shahjeera, black peppercorns, red chillies, jaifol, javitri, grated coconut, poppy seeds.

Stir continuously until it develops a nice aroma and turns into a nice golden colour. Turn off the gas and place it into a grinder. Let it cool, then make fine paste with the help of a little water. The malvani masala is ready, keep it aside.

Heat a kadai with 4-5 tbsp of oil, add the bay leaf. Then add the thinly sliced onion and frying onion till it turns to a nice golden colour, then add the ginger and garlic paste, salt to taste, turmeric powder, kashmiri chili powder, chopped green chilli.

Then add the marinated chicken and mix it well with the onion masala on a medium-high flame for 4-5 mins. Cover the kadai, reduce the flame on fire for 7-8 mins.

After 8 mins, add the malvani masla and mix it well with the chicken. Then add a cup of water, give it a nice stir and keep cooking further for 10 mins on a medium heat.

When the chicken becomes tender, it has a thick gravy and the oil separates from the chicken masala, this means it is ready. Add the garam masala and 1-2 tsp of lemon juice. Give it a nice stir.

Keep the gravy as per your desired consistency and sprinkle some coriander leaves.

Place it on a serving bowl. Serve it with steamed rice, roti, naan, bakhri or whatever you like.