Morog Musallam

Ingredients

The chicken

• 1whole chicken
• about 1.5 kg, skinned
• 6hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 2 teaspoonssalt

The marinade

• 300 gthick yoghurt
• 3 tablespoonsginger and garlic paste
• 1 tablespoonground coriander
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground turmeric
• 2 teaspoonschilli powder
• 1 teaspoongaram masala
• juice of 1 lemon

The gravy

• 150 gghee
• 3onions, thinly sliced
• 50 gcashews
• soaked and ground
• 2 tablespoonspoppy seed paste
• 4green cardamom pods
• 2black cardamom pods
• 1cinnamon stick
• 6cloves
• 3bay leaves
• about 400 ml water
• salt

To finish

• 2 tablespoonskewra water
• or rosewater
• a pinch of saffron
• in warm milk
• fried onions, to scatter

Directions

1. Add them at the very end and sparingly. Skin stops the marinade reaching the flesh. Pull it off with your fingers and a knife. Cut deep slashes into the flesh.
2. Cut into the breast and the thighs. They also help it cook evenly. Cut right down towards the bone. Whisk the yoghurt in a large bowl. Add the ginger and garlic paste. Add all of the ground spices to it. Squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Add the salt and stir it together.
3. Rub the marinade all over the chicken. Rub some inside the cavity as well. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Put the hard-boiled eggs inside the cavity. Do not force any of them in at all.
4. Tie the legs together with string. Tie the wings against the body. It also stops the eggs falling out. Heat the ghee in a large heavy pot. Add all of the thinly sliced onions. Fry them slowly until deep brown. This takes twenty minutes or more. Stir them regularly as they darken. Lift out half the browned onions.
5. Keep them to scatter at the end. Drain them all on kitchen paper. Add the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Add the bay leaves to the pot. Fry them for about one full minute. Brown it well on all of its sides.
6. Turn it carefully with two spoons. Do not pierce it with a fork at all. Add the ground cashews to the pot. Add the poppy seed paste with them. Add any of the remaining marinade. Add the water and season it well. It should come partway up the bird. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot tightly with a lid. Let it cook for about an hour.
7. Keep it barely simmering throughout. Turn the bird every twenty minutes. Turn it carefully so it stays whole. Judging it takes a careful check.
8. Lift the chicken out carefully. Let the gravy reduce uncovered. Give it about fifteen minutes. Oil should separate at the surface. That separation is the sign it is ready. Stir it right into the hot gravy. Add the kewra water sparingly. Crush the threads between your fingers. Steep them in warm milk first.
9. Return the whole bird to the pot. Spoon gravy over it thoroughly. Let it warm through for five minutes. Serving it is always done whole. Lift the chicken onto a large platter. Pour the gravy over and around it. Take the eggs out and arrange them alongside. Scatter the reserved fried onions over. Serve polao or naan alongside. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Fry the onions slowly for twenty minutes or more until deep golden brown; this is the base of the gravy and cannot be hurried, since rushing burns them and burnt onion makes the whole pot bitter. Lift half of them out to scatter over at the end, which is the traditional garnish.
• The gravy is thickened with ground cashew and poppy seed rather than flour, which is a Mughal technique: ground nuts swell and release oil, giving a rich glossy body quite unlike a flour thickening. Poppy seeds can cause positive opiate drug tests — a documented effect concerning testing rather than any drug effect — which anyone facing one should know.
• Truss the stuffed bird firmly and turn it every twenty minutes, since the submerged part cooks faster; keep it at a bare simmer throughout, because a hard boil both toughens the chicken and splits the yoghurt gravy. Test at the thickest thigh rather than the breast, since that is the last part to cook.

Substitutions

• Rosewater stands in for kewra water, distilled pandanus flower; both are easy to overdo and go in sparingly at the very end.
• Ground almonds stand in for cashews as the thickener.

Variations

• The chicken is skinned, since skin stops the marinade reaching the flesh and goes flabby in a braise.
• It is brought to the table whole and carved there, which is part of the occasion.
• Old Dhaka’s Dhakaiya cooks preserved many Mughal-descended dishes that fell out of everyday use, bringing them out for weddings and Eid.

History

A Mughal dish preserved by Old Dhaka’s Dhakaiya cooks, brought out for weddings and Eid feasts.

Frequently asked questions

What is Morog Musallam?

Morog Musallam is a main from Bangladesh: whole chicken stuffed with eggs and slow-braised in a spiced yoghurt gravy. A Mughal dish preserved by Old Dhaka’s Dhakaiya cooks, brought out for weddings and Eid feasts.

How long does Morog Musallam take to make?

Morog Musallam takes 45 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Morog Musallam?

Yes, within limits. Rosewater stands in for kewra water, distilled pandanus flower; both are easy to overdo and go in sparingly at the very end. Ground almonds stand in for cashews as the thickener.

What is the most important thing to get right in Morog Musallam?

Rub the marinade all over the chicken. Rub some inside the cavity as well. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Put the hard-boiled eggs inside the cavity. Do not force any of them in at all.