Murgh Anardana ~ Dried Pomegranate Chicken Curry

Anardana are dried pomegranate seeds, used in Persian and north Indian cooking. Seeds are sour in taste and give a slightly sour taste to the food it is added to. Murgh anardana is chicken curry cooked with powdered dried pomegranate seeds. Chicken is marinated with anardana powder and then cooked into a curry or it is added towards the end to finish off the curry.

Murgh anardana is a Himachali food and it was on my to cook list since we did Indian Odyssey almost 3 years ago. I came across anardana chicken recipe after I cooked my Himachali dish and was in my bookmarks ever since. However, today’s recipe is not a Himachali recipe.

The last ingredient in Ingredient Exchange is anardana from Rajani. When Rajani gave a bottle of anardana, I instantly knew what I was making. Yesterday when I opened the Himachali murgh anardana recipe, I was disappointed as that blog is now protected. I sent a request to view the recipe. My request is yet to be approved and meantime, I came up with my own version of murgh anardana.

I was unsure if I really wanted to post my version of the recipe as Mr.U said he didn’t notice any difference in the curry and tasted like the usual fare. When I told him how it is suppose to taste, he said he does find it a bit tart and sour but not that significant. I considered cooking something else. However, I changed my mind and decided to document this version of murgh anardana for my own reference.

Ingredients:
Marinade

1.3 lbs Chicken or 6 Chicken Drumsticks
2 teaspoon Chili Powder (adjust to taste. It was spicy)
Garam Masala (recipe below )
2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
¾ teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Anardana ~ Dry Pomegranate Seeds, powdered
½ cup Yogurt

Garam Masala

¼ teaspoon Cardamom Seeds
4 Cloves
5 Black Peppercorns
½” cinnamon Stick
¼ - ½ teaspoon Shah Jeera ~ Caraway Seeds (I was out of it and used cumin powder which I listed under curry)

Curry

3 tablespoon Oil
2 Bay Leaves
3-4 Cardamoms
2-4 Cloves
½” Cinnamon Stick
1 medium sized Onion, chopped or ¾ cup chopped Onion
2-3 small Green Chilies (cut into 3 pieces. I used 3 chilies)
1 ½ - 2 tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
¼ teaspoon roasted Cumin Seeds Powder
¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chili Powder (optional and I used it for color )
Salt to taste and mind you marinade already has some salt
Fresh Kothmir - Cilantro Leaves for garnish

Preparation:

Remove the skin and make gashes on chicken drumsticks. If using chicken breast or thighs or whole chicken, cut to small pieces and keep aside.
Make garam masala powder with ingredients listed under garam masala and powder pomegranate seeds.
In a small bowl mix together all the ingredients listed under marinade, except chicken.
Pour the marinade on chicken pieces and rub it in.
Marinate the chicken for at least an hour. I marinated the chicken for 3 hours.
Heat oil in a frying pan. I used a nonstick pan here.
When oil is hot, add bay leaves, cardamon, cloves, cinnamon and let the spices release aroma.
Add onions and saute till soft.
Add green chilies, ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell of ginger dissipates.
Add cumin powder, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder if using, and give a good stir.
Add marinated chicken and stir until spices are coated to chicken.
Cover and cook on medium flame until chicken is tender. Keep stirring in between.
When Chicken is cooked, uncover and continue to cook until chicken is light brown and curry is done.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti. I served with rice.