SERVES 4
Chicken Sanju Baba is a mildly spiced chicken dish named after the famous Bollywood movie star Sanjay Dutt. The urban Mumbai legend is that the recipe was created by the movie star himself and he shared it with the owner of Noor Mohammadi restaurant, located in the Bhendi Bazaar area of the city, when he went to deliver food to the Dutt residence. This dish is still served at that restaurant. I figured I should recreate the recipe by reverse engineering it. 😊 Even after using a lot of whole Kashmiri red chillies, the dish is still mildly spiced as these chillies are low on the spice scale. Also, the addition of yogurt and almond paste reduces the kick.
1 kg (2.2 lbs) chicken leg quarters
½ cup (8 tbsp) vegetable oil
1 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
1 cup yogurt, beaten
½ cup ginger, julienned
10 Kashmiri chillies, whole
¼ cup almond paste (Blanch and peel almonds and grind to a fine paste)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 large tomato, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
3 dry bay leaves
2 cardamom pods
1 tbsp aaffron water
2 tbsp lime juice
¼ cup green onions (bulb and springs)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 Make slits on the chicken quarters (3-4 on either side) and set aside
2 In a large wok, heat ghee and oil and add cumin seeds, black cardamom, whole red chillies, bay leaves, onions, salt and fry until the onions are golden brown..
3 Add in the spring onions and ginger juliennes and mix well. Stir for 30-40 seconds.
4 Add the chicken, coriander powder, saffron into the wok and mix thoroughly.
5 After a minute, add beaten curd and almond paste.
6 Add the salt as required followed by tomatoes and stir.
7 Cover and cook for 30 minutes on low flame.
8 Once cooked add the ginger juliennes, lemon juice and turn the flame off. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve.
Serve with plain or garlic naan.
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