Murshidabad Chicken Korma Nawabi White Gravy

Ingredients

• 700 g chicken — bone-in pieces
• 1 cup yogurt, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp white pepper, salt — marinade
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 4 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 2 bay leaf, 1 inch mace blade, 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 onions — finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/4 cup cashews — soaked and blended to smooth paste
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder (no red chilli — the korma is white)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp kewra water (screwpine essence), 1 tsp rose water
• salt, 1/2 cup fresh cream

Method

1. Marinate chicken: Mix chicken with yogurt, ginger, garlic, white pepper and salt. Marinate 3 hours.
2. Heat ghee: Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a heavy pot. Add green cardamom, cloves, bay leaves, mace and cinnamon. Bloom 20 seconds.
3. Cook onion until soft and pale golden: Add onions. Cook 10 minutes until soft and pale golden — not dark. The pale onion keeps the korma white.
4. Add ginger and garlic: Cook 2 minutes.
5. Add marinated chicken: Add chicken with all marinade. Cook on medium heat stirring for 8 minutes until the yogurt reduces.
6. Add cashew paste: Add the smooth cashew paste. Stir to combine. Cook 3 minutes.
7. Add white pepper and nutmeg: Add white pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. No red chilli — the korma is deliberately pale.
8. Add cream and salt: Add cream. Stir on low heat. Add salt.
9. Cover and cook: Cover. Cook on medium-low 25 to 30 minutes until chicken is fully cooked and the pale, cream-coloured gravy is thick.
10. Finish: Add kewra water and rose water. Stir very gently. The floral finish is the Murshidabad signature. Serve with roomali roti or steamed rice.
11. Note: Murshidabad — the erstwhile capital of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa under the Nawabs — developed its own court cuisine during the 18th century Nawabi period, influenced by Mughal, Persian and Bengali traditions simultaneously. The Murshidabad korma uses kewra and rose water more generously than the Lucknow or Hyderabadi versions, reflecting the floral, perfumed aesthetic of Bengali Muslim court cooking. The city's Hazarduari palace museum is the centre of a food culture that has been largely undocumented in mainstream Indian culinary writing.