Chicken Kosha, also known as Kosha Murgir Mangsho, is a classic Bengali chicken curry. This dish features marinated chicken pieces slow-cooked with a special blend of spices until perfectly tender, resulting in a delicious and flavorful Murgir Kosha. Unlike the lighter Bengali Murgir Jhol, this semi-dry preparation boasts a spicy gravy that pairs wonderfully with Roti.
Jump to:
- The love-hate relationship with Golbari's Kosha Mangsho
- Watch how to cook the Bengali Chicken Kosha Recipe
- To make perfect Chicken Kosha
- Chicken Kosha Recipe Ingredients
- Equipment needed to cook perfect Kosha Murgi
- Frequently Asked Questions - Bengali Chicken Kosha aka Kosha Murgi
- Recipe Card
- Pairing Chicken Kosha
- Easy Chicken Recipes
- Have you tried the Bengali Chicken Kosha recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar
- Here's the Chicken Kosha Pin for your Pinterest Board!
The love-hate relationship with Golbari's Kosha Mangsho
Chicken Kosha and Mutton Kosha both became famous because of a beloved roadside restaurant called Golbari - New Punjabi Hotel in Kolkata. You'll often hear people from Kolkata either passionately love or deeply dislike Golbari's Mangsho (an iconic dish indeed). There's a good reason for this. Over time, the texture of the meat cooked at Golbari has become less appealing to many. This is likely because most Bengali-style restaurants in Kolkata now offer Kosha dishes, with some serving tender meat instead of the chewy pieces that are Golbari's hallmark. Personally, I don't mind the chewy pieces much, as for me, the gravy is what truly defines Kosha Mangsho.
Watch how to cook the Bengali Chicken Kosha Recipe
To make perfect Chicken Kosha
To cook perfect Chicken Kosha, slow cooking is essential. However, it's not typical slow cooking; instead, you must continuously fry / bhuno / koshano the meat with the marinade and spices to achieve the ideal gravy texture. I believe cooking Kosha Murgi (Chicken Kosha) is much harder than Mutton Kosha. If you overcook the chicken, it will become unpleasantly chewy, which is definitely something to avoid. However, while you cannot opt for overcooking while using chicken, that does not mean you don't need to "bhuno" the spices. You have to but tactfully without overcooking the chicken!
Chicken Kosha Recipe Ingredients
- Good quality curry-cut chicken
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Yogurt
- Turmeric powder
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- Coriander powder
- Cumin Powder
- Shahi Garam Masala
- Sugar
- Salt
- Mustard Oil
Check the recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to cook perfect Kosha Murgi
Equipment plays a major role when you are cooking a dish that requires slow cooking as well as continuous stirring. A heavy-bottom pan and a metal spatula are a must. If possible, use a round-bottom pan or kadhai with a lid like this one.
Frequently Asked Questions - Bengali Chicken Kosha aka Kosha Murgi
No. These are two different Bengali delicacies cooked with Chicken. Murgir jhol is a comforting runny chicken curry, while Kosha Murchi has a semi-dry texture.
You can use any portion, but it is better to opt for a curry cut. I do not advise using big chunks instead medium-sized pieces work best.
Absolutely not. You need to use pieces with the bone to get the perfect texture. A few boneless pieces would do, but not 100%. The recipe calls for slow cooking and vigorous stirring, and that too for a longer time; hence, boneless would not work as it will turn chewy.
While for mutton you need to cook for at least 1.5 hours to make Mutton Kosha, however, the chicken will be cooked maximum of 20 minutes.
You can, however, Mustard oil works best.
Recipe Card
Chicken Kosha Recipe | Bengali Kosha Murgir Mangsho
Ingredients
- 1 Kg Chicken curry Cut
- 200 g plain Yogurt or plain curd
- 5 Onion
- 1.5 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 6 tablespoon Mustard Oil
Spices
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ⅕ teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Shahi Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt or to taste
Tempering:
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 3 Dry Red Chili
- 1 Black Cardamom
- 4 Green Cardamom
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
Instructions
- Clean chicken chunks and pat-dry those.
- Now make a paste of 2 Onions.
- Marinade Chicken with Onion paste, half of the Ginger and garlic paste, and half of Turmeric Powder, Red Chili powder, Cumin powder, Coriander powder, sugar, and salt.
- Add 1 tablespoon Mustard oil and 100g Yogurt/ Curd to the marinade as well.
- Mix properly.
- Keep the chicken in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
- While cooking, roughly chop the remaining onion.
- Heat 4 tablespoon Mustard Oil in a deep-bottom pan.
- Temper the oil with Bay leaf, Dry Red Chilli, Black and green cardamom, and also with Cinnamon stick.
- While the tempering emits an aroma, add the remaining sugar and let it caramelize.
- Now add chopped onion and fry till it turns light pink.
- Do not over-fry the onion else the gravy will turn bitter.
- Once fried, add the remaining ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute.
- Now add the remaining curd and cook on a slow flame till the oil leaves the edges.
- Meanwhile, with the remaining spices except garam masala (Turmeric Powder, Red Chili powder, Cumin powder, Coriander powder, sugar, and salt), along with 1 tablespoon Mustard oil, make a thick paste.
- Add this spice paste to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
- Now add the marinated chicken along with the marinade.
- Mix thoroughly on low flame.
- Now cook for 20 minutes on a low flame and stir continuously.
- Stirring is the key to making the perfect Chicken Kosha.
- The chicken will release sufficient moisture while cooking, which will be enough to cook the chicken.
- There is no need to add extra water.
- Once done, add Shahi Garam Masala to it.
- After 20 minutes, the chicken will be properly cooked, the gravy will be semi-dry, and it will leave oil on the edges.
- You must check for consistency.
- Kosha Mangsho is not a dish served with excess runny gravy.
- Serve Chicken Kosha hot with your choice of Paratha, bread, roti, Pulao, or rice.
Video
Notes
- Do not use a pressure cooker to cook Kosha mangsho, especially chicken.
- You can adjust red chili powder based on your preference.
Nutrition
Pairing Chicken Kosha
Easy Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Liver Pâté Recipe
- Chicken Keema Paratha (also known as Chicken Paratha)
- Instant Chicken Pulao Recipe | Chicken Pulao in Pressure Cooker
- Dhaba Style Chicken Curry (also known as Restaurant-style Indian chicken curry)
- Panch Phoron Murgi (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry with Panch Phoron)n
- Murgi Khichuri (also known as Chicken Khichuri)
- Chicken Salad (also known as a cold chicken salad)
- Orange and Herb Roasted Chicken and Vegetables | Roast Chicken
- Dak Bungalow Chicken Curry (also known as Chicken Dak Bungalow)
- Aam Kasundi Murgi (also known as Bengali Style Chicken in Mango Mustard Sauce)
- Doi Murgi (also known as Kolkata style Doi Chicken aka Bengali Curd based Chicken Curry)
- Bengali Desi Murgir Dum (also known as Bengali Country Chicken Curry)
- Robibarer Murgir Jhol (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry)
- Methi Murgh Malai (also known as restaurant-style methi cream murg)
- Kancha Lonka Murgi (also known as Bengali Chicken Curry cooked with the skin of Green Chili Paste)
- Chicken Chaap (also known as Chaap Bhaja)
- Pishpash, aka Pish Pash (also known as Anglo-Indian Rice and Chicken Hotchpotch)
Have you tried the Bengali Chicken Kosha recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar
Please inform me of your experience, and feel free to send a photo to [email protected]. Additionally, you can find me on various social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Google News, X, and Thread. Don't forget to use the hashtag #debjanirrannaghar when sharing your attempts at my recipes or if you have any questions or recipe requests. Oh, and you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
Here's the Chicken Kosha Pin for your Pinterest Board!
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.
Natty Dias says
Hi! In the ingredients list, you mentioned Sahi Garam Masala. Is it Sahi or Shahi, because I've never heard of Sahi Garam Masala.
Debjani says
It was a typo. Kindly search for Shahi Garam Masala.
Nitesh Ghosh says
Made this for some friends and it came out amazing!!!
Debjani says
Glad to know! 🙂