Chicken Chaap

Name: Chicken Chaap
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Westbengal)
Ingredients: Chicken leg quarters: 4 (800g total); Yogurt: 150g; Fried onion (birista) paste: 75g; Ginger paste: 1½ tbsp; Garlic paste: 1 tbsp; Turmeric: 1 tsp; Red chilli powder: 1½ tsp; Garam masala: 1 tsp; Poppy seed (posto) paste: 1 tbsp; Ghee: 2 tbsp; Oil: 2 tbsp; Kewra water: 1 tsp; Salt: 1½ tsp; Score chicken deeply to the bone — marinade must penetrate for full flavour; Poppy seed paste (posto) adds thickness and a nutty note unique to Kolkata style; Patience in step 3 is essential — the chaap must be golden-brown, not pale; Serve with sliced raw onion sprinkled with lime juice

🍗 Non-veg🌾 Gluten-free📊 Medium

Chicken leg quarters marinated in yogurt-spice-fried-onion paste then slow-cooked until deep golden and semi-dry — Kolkata's Mughlai chicken dinner staple.

⏱️20 minPrep

🔥60 minCook

🕒80 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 How to make Chicken Chaap

Score chicken legs deeply; mix all marinade ingredients except ghee and kewra.
Coat chicken; marinate 4 hours minimum.
Place chicken with marinade in heavy pan; cook covered on low heat 30 min.
Uncover; increase heat to medium.
Cook stirring carefully until masala reduces, clings to chicken and edges darken, 15–20 min.
Add ghee; toss.
Sprinkle kewra water and garam masala.
Serve with paratha or biriyani pulao.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 430 kcal | 46g | 10g | 22g | 1g | Chicken Chaap is inseparable from Kolkata Biriyani — the two are served together at almost every Muslim celebration dinner and at Mughlai restaurants. The dish represents the adaptation of Mughal court cooking to local chicken by the immigrant cooks who settled in north Kolkata's Muslim quarters in the 19th century. On wedding nights, chaap and biryani are the universal combination. ---

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