Thread by @madmanweb

OK...I'm going to type out my recipe for Chicken Ghee Roast. I should probably blog it but nobody reads blogs these days, so what the heck.

Long thread coming up...

Overview of Chicken Ghee Roast recipe.

Basic steps:

1) Make spice paste
2) Marinate chicken
3) Fry paste in lots of ghee
4) Add chicken
5) Cook till chicken is done
6) Reduce spice paste till it starts caramelising and sticking to chicken

Step 1: Spice paste

INGREDIENTS
Byadgi chillies - 15
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peppercorns - 2 tsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cloves - 3
Salt - 2 tsp
Jaggery - 2 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1-2 tbsp (check tartness)
Garlic cloves - 10
Ginger - 1/2"

METHOD:
Heat a flat pan on low, gently roast all the dry spices till they are lightly toasted. Let them cool for 10 minutes. (I put them all in a bowl and add some warm water, rest for an hour, but you can skip this step.)

Add toasted spices with remaining spice paste ingredients to a blender with some water and 2 tsp of vegetable oil, blend till a fine paste forms. Add a bit more water if needed. If you soaked the spices earlier, you won't need much water.

Step 2: Marinate chicken

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken - 1 kg (cut up into medium pieces). I prefer using only thighs/legs, but use what you can get

Yoghurt - 1/2 cup (100 g)
Turmeric - 1 tsp

Salt - 2 tsp

Lime juice - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp (more if you want it spicier)

Mix spices with yogurt, make gashes in chicken pieces for masala to hold on to, rub marinade into chicken, keep in fridge for 1-8 hours.

(Marinades don't penetrate more than a few mm into meat tissue; don't believe traditional advice.)

Step 3: Fry paste

Heat a large kadhai, add 1/3 cup of ghee (90 ml; 6 tbsp). Add paste and fry over low heat for 5-10 minutes till oil starts separating from paste.

Step 4: Add chicken

Add the marinated chicken and mix it into the spice paste. Turn the heat up to high and let the chicken cook for 5 minutes till flesh turns white outside.

Step 5: Cook till chicken is done

Lower the heat to medium-low and let the chicken cook uncovered for about 25-30 minutes. No additional water is necessary. Check every 10 minutes that spice paste is not spluttering too angrily. Use that time to stir chicken well a few times.

Step 6: Reduce spice paste

If all has gone well, you should now have chicken in a thick paste. But it needs to reduce till the sugar in the paste starts caramelising a bit and the sauce starts sticking to the chicken. at this stage, it needs a bit of hand-holding for 5-10 min.

Now turn the heat down to low, add 2 tbsp more ghee, and stir every couple of minutes so the paste doesn't burn at the bottom and the ghee keeps getting emulsified back into the sauce.

Keep at it till the sauce turns slightly grainy, dark red, and starts sticking to the chicken.

At this stage, you can optionally stir in
a) 1/2 tsp coriander powder
b) some curry leaves)
c) both or
d) neither

Turn the heat off, stir a couple more times, and serve.

Notes:
* If you don't have Byadgi chillies, use Kashmiri chillies in a pinch.
* If you use hot Guntur-like chillies instead, you will need a new rectum
* 1 tsp = 5 ml
* 1 tbsp = 15 ml
* Do NOT skimp on the ghee, bitches! This is ghee roast. Don't want ghee? Don't make this.

And finally, every person and his dog has a different recipe for this dish (like many dishes). Don't come at me with "Oh no, you forgot XYZ or we always add ABC!" If you have your own recipe, make that instead!

@threadreaderapp unroll

OK, this thread took off so I'll add a bit more info.

You can use this recipe for other proteins too. But minor changes in cooking stage apply.

Here's how to adapt it to prawns, mutton, paneer, and eggs.

Prawns: don't bother marinating them. You don't want ceviche in your ghee roast. Just dry them with a paper towel, fry them in the ghee first till they turn pink, remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Follow recipe for frying the paste, then add prawns just before stage 6.

Paneer: Cut paneer into cubes, use same marinade, fry in ghee so exterior gets golden, remove with slotted spoon, return to fried paste just before stage 6.

Reduce paneer quantity to 500-600 g though. No bones in paneer. ;)

Disclaimer: I have never made paneer ghee roast.

Eggs: boil eggs, peel, cut in half, add before stage 6 of recipe.

Here's how to boil eggs properly so you don't get that nasty greenish-grey around the yolks:
thekitchn.com/how-to-boil-eg…

Mutton: marinate the mutton, pressure cook separately till cooked, add mutton along with any broth from cooking process to the spice paste just before stage 6. Enjoy the added meatiness.

Optional: add a pod of black cardamon, lightly crushed, to the mutton when cooking.

Beef: same as mutton above

Pork: I've made this with pork but don't recommend it because the fat in the pork added to the ghee roast makes the dish too greasy.