Imagine sinking your teeth into Kolkata Style Chicken Bharta! Tender strips of chicken swim in a luscious, flavorful gravy, all topped with a perfectly boiled egg. This dish is a true Kolkata dhaba treasure, a taste of the city you won't soon forget.
Jump to:
- My favorite Restaurant serving Chicken Bharta in Kolkata
- Kolkata's special Chicken Bhorta!
- What makes Murg Bharta special?
- Here's the recipe for restaurant-style Chicken Bharta from Debjanir Rannaghar!
- Recipe Card
- Mutton and Chicken Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar
- Have you tried the Chicken Bharta Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
My memory of Chicken Bharta always took me back to my college days or more specifically, the period when I completed my BSc and was struggling with the Master's course. That was for the first time I left a metro city to study Rural Management and was based in a suburb of West Bengal, Kalyani. I used to back to the city on the weekend devastatingly. The weekends used to be fun with time for me, with Sudipta and Sumit Sir, my partners in several crimes. The former is a college bestie while the latter is my “Sakha” with whom I have the relationship of something alike Draupadi and Sri Krishna. The three musketeers used to visit our favorite small joints whenever I / Sudipta needed to pay for the food and the bigger one whenever it was Sumit Sir's turn to pay the bill.
My favorite Restaurant serving Chicken Bharta in Kolkata
Coming to the Chicken Bharta, we used to visit a tiny place near Jagu Babur Bazar (and our college) called "Bhoj" and I have tasted the best Chicken Bharta over there only. The joint is not in existence now but I tried to create the Chicken Bharta, just like our beloved "common Shosurbari (Sasural)". Yes, we used to treat that place as our future in-law's place at that time!
Kolkata's special Chicken Bhorta!
The combination of Chicken chunks, Egg, and Indian rich gravy is deadly for me each time I taste the Chicken Bharta. I am not a big chicken fan until the chicken is the "Desi Chicken" with the earthiness loaded but there are a few dishes, I have cherished all through and Chicken Bharta is obviously one of those. The Chicken Bharta or Chicken Bhorta probably took the essence from the North Indian "Bharta" and Bangladesh "Bhorta" to make itself the best of its kind with its origin in Kolkata. Yes, the city of joy has its special version of Chicken Bharta which is influenced by both North Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.
What makes Murg Bharta special?
A true blue Kolkata-style Chicken Bharta is an earthy delicacy. Boneless chicken chunks cooked with Indian spices, and Egg. The end result is amazing. The thick gravy is dominated by the tempering that is done with Kasuri Methi, Punjabi Garam Masala, and a bit of Tandoori Masala. All thanks to the Punjabi community in Kolkata, we cherish this beautiful dish. Some people prefer to use boneless chicken chunks while some use chicken strips, while I use a combination of both to make the Chicken Bharta.
Here's the recipe for restaurant-style Chicken Bharta from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Recipe Card
Chicken Bharta | Kolkata style Chicken Bharta
Kolkata Style Chicken Bharta, where chicken strips are cooked in a rich gravy and served with boiled egg
Ingredients
- 1 Kg Boneless Chicken
- 5 Egg
- 1 Tomato
- 4 Onion
- 1 Tbsp. Ginger Paste
- 1.5 Tbsp. Garlic Paste
- 5-6 Green Chili
- 2 Tbsp. Cashew nut Paste
- 1 Tbsp. Char Magaj Melon Seed Paste
- 100 ml Hung Curd
- 50 ml Fresh Cream
- 1 Tbsp. Butter
- 3 Tbsp. Refined Oil
For Tempering:
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Tsp. Kasuri Methi
- 1 Red Chili
- 4 Clove
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
Spices:
- 1 Tsp. Turmeric Powder
- 1 Tsp. Red Chili Powder
- 1 Tsp. Sugar
- 1 Tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala Powder
- ½ Tsp. Chicken Tandoori Masala
- 1.5 Tsp. Salt or to taste
Instructions
Perfect Kolkata-style Chicken Bharta Recipe
- Wash boneless chicken cubes and boil those with ½ tsp. of salt and water for 5-6 minutes and strain the water keep it separately.
- Leave half of the boiled chicken cubes as it is and cut strips out of the rest.
- Roughly chop Onion and Tomato
- Hard boil eggs and discard the shell of the boiled eggs.
- Take Oil in a deep bottom pan and temper the oil with Bay Leaf, Red Chili, Clove, Cinnamon Stick, and Kasuri Methi ( for the Kasuri Methi use ⅔ for tempering).
- Now add chopped onion and fry till the onion turns translucent in color.
- Add chopped tomatoes, ginger, and garlic paste and slip green chili and cook till oil separates from the mixture.
- Now add Turmeric Powder, Red Chili Powder, Chicken Tandoori Masala, Sugar, and Salt to taste and cook for 1-2 minutes on low flame.
- Add Cashew nut Paste, Char Magaj Paste, Hung Curd, and Fresh Cream and cook till the nutty aroma as well as the smell of curd emits completely.
- At this point add both boiled chicken cubes and chicken strips and mix thoroughly and cook in low flame for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of the water that was used for boiling the chicken and after covering the pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes or till you reach the desired consistency.
- Take three boiled eggs and separate the yolk and mash it and roughly cut the Egg white into long strips.
- Add both the mashed yolk and Egg white to the Chicken Bharta and give it a thorough mix.
- Now add butter, rest of the Kasuri Methi and Punjabi Garam Masala, and mix.
- Cut the rest of the eggs into halves and lightly fold with the gravy.
- Serve Chicken Bharta with Roti, Naan, or Paratha.
Notes
Tandoori Chicken Masala is optional however, it gives amazing flavor to the bharta.
Nutrition
Mutton and Chicken Recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar
- Dhaba Style Chicken Curry (also known as Dhaba Chicken)
- Bengali Mutton Stew with Veggies in a pressure cooker (also known as Shobji diye Mangshor Jhol)
- Panch Phoron Murgi (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry with Panch Phoron)
- Chicken Salad (also known as a chicken cold salad)
- Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken and Vegetables (also known as Roast Chicken)
- Nalli Nihari (also known as Mutton Nihari)
- Dak Bungalow Chicken Curry (also known as Chicken Dak Bungalow)
- Chicken Chaap (also known as Chicken Chanp)
- Pishpash (also known as Anglo-Indian Rice and Chicken Hotchpotch)
- Aam Kasundi Murgi (also known as Bengali Style Chicken in Mango Mustard Sauce)
- Kolkata Mutton Biryani (also known as Calcutta Biryani)
- Doi Murgi (also known as Kolkata style Doi Chicken)
- Bengali Desi Murgir Dum (also known as Bengali Country Chicken Curry)
- Authentic Green Thai Chicken Curry recipe (also known as Thai green curry)
More Recipes
- Restaurant Style Chicken Malai Kebab (also known as Chicken Reshmi Kebab or Murg Malai Kebab)
- Joggi Barir Mangsho (Also known as Biyebarir Mutton Curry)
- Tandoori Chicken (Also known as Tanduri Murg)
- Bengali Chicken Stew (also known as light chicken stew)
- Bengali Mete Chorchori (also known as Mutton Liver side with Potato chunks)
- Murgi Khichuri (also known as Murgir Mangshor Khichuri
Gota Roshun diye Mangshor Jhol (also known as Bengali mutton curry with garlic pod) - Robibarer Murgir Jhol (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry)
- Kerala Style Chicken Stew (also known as Kerala Stew)
- Kancha Lonka Murgi (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry cooked with the skin of Green Chili Paste)
- Posto Mangsho (also known as Bengali Mutton Curry cooked with Poppy Seed Paste)
Have you tried the Chicken Bharta Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com, or on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar or can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
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About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
Soumya says
Worked great, thanks for the recipe.
priya singh says
There are lots of food blogger like this But the best food recipe "Chicken Bharta" is yours. Thanks for giving me this wonderful blog. I will try to make it like you.