Murgh Mussallam (Jaffrey)

Marinade

Place

6 cloves garlic

2" x 1" piece of ginger

1.5t salt

1/2t garam masala

1/2t turmeric

4T Yogurt

2 fresh hot green chilis (or 1/4-1/2 t cayenne)

in a blender and blend at high speed until smooth.

Place

3.5 lbs chicken, skinless

in a bowl and cover with the marinade you've just made. Let sit 2 hours.

Other preparation

Mix

1t loosely packed saffron

with

2T hot water

and set aside.

Cook

4 hard boiled eggs (mayeb 6 for our family, and only 2.5 lbs chix)

and set aside to cool.

Cooking Paste

Heat

8T cooking oil

in a 10-inch saucepan.

Cook

4 med sized onions, peeled and chopped

4t garlic

1" cube of ginger

in the hot oil, about 8-10 min, until onions brown at the edges. Put the results in a blender. Reserve the cooking oil.

In a separate pan, heat

1 T blanched slivered almonds

until they start to brown. Then add to blender.

In the same skillet, cook

1T ground coriander

1T ground cumin

until it starts to darken, but not burn. Expect some smoke. When done. add to blender.

Add to the blender

seeds from 4 black or 8 green cardamom pods

1/4t groudn cloves

1/2t ground cinnamon

1/4t ground nutmeg

1/4t ground mace

1.5t salt

1/4t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cayenne (optional)

3T lemon juice

1/2c water

and blend to a smooth paste.

Brown

The chicken, with marinade still on it

in the reserved oil, plus

more oil, as needed,

over high heat.

Lower heat, and pour in

The cooking paste

over the chicken and spread with a spatula. Add

1 c water

to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and cook over low heat for 40 minutes, turning chicken 2 or 3 times, and basting with the sauce.

Peel

The hard boiled eggs

and 10 minutes before chicken is finished, put them in the pot, covering with sauce.

Pour

the saffron and its water

over the chicken and eggs

Continue simmering until chicken is done.

Serve with

Chopped parsley or coriander.