Kozhi Musuman | Whole Chicken in Chana Dal Sauce

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Let me be frank here. I wanted to make a totally new curry for this Blogging Marathon #88 – Dazzling Dal series, so that I could leave my drafts untouched. I even made cholar dal once, but it didn’t turn out well, so I skipped clicking it. Then something happened, that whole thought of wanting to cook and click a totally new dish, really puts me off these days. If you see my camera now, my clicks are so wide spread. I cook new dishes and click them only if I am really in a mood for it. Otherwise, I just leave it at that. I feel glad that my drafts are feeding my blog without me having to worry about the next dish to post. During those times, I used to wonder why am I in a hurry to cook and click, and now I clearly understand the purpose of it. Truly, His ways are great… 🙂

So after doing the Muringakka curry and the Dal Kabila, I was stuck on the third one, more of not wanting to cook, so I dug into my drafts, and came out with this delicious Kozhi Musuman I had made during a weekend. After so many deliberations, I decided it to be the third post for this theme.

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This is one of the first recipes I had bookmarked from a favorite blog of mine, Kachu’s Delights. Hasna doesn’t blog anymore and I sincerely miss her lovely recipes. But then everybody has a reason to not continue with it. As per her post, this recipe belongs to her grandmother. I have made the Kozhi Nirachathu in two forms here and here, which is basically stuffed chicken, but this recipe was completely different. The chicken is cooked and then stuffed with a dal mixture, and cook in some more dal sauce.

I am really glad I got to try this recipe. The taste of the dish is amazing. I feel like it’s the reply of the Malabar area for the Murg Dhansak. We enjoyed it with some Masala Chor and a simple salad. The leftovers were mopped up with some khubz at night. I wouldn’t suggest to make this with chicken pieces. The thrill is in cooking it whole – that’s why it is called “Musuman”, which is the colloquial word for the Malayalam word, “Muzhuvan”, meaning “full”. The coconut paste and the slight sugar in it gives it a lovely after flavor. All in all, if you are in an elaborate mood, I would rate this a must-try! Off to the recipe…

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4.88 from 8 votes

Kozhi Musuman | Whole Chicken in Chana Dal Sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Malabar

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4 -6

Author Rafeeda

Ingredients

• 1 kg whole chicken skinned, cleaned and patted dry
• 2 onions sliced
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 3 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt to taste
• 1/3 cup chana dal bengal gram
• FOR COCONUT PASTE:
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 cup grated coconut divided
• 1 tsp fennel
• 4 pearl onions peeled and chopped
• 1 clove
• 1 cardamom
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• FOR STUFFING:
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 small onion sliced
• 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• FOR TEMPERING:
• 1 tsp ghee
• 2 pearl onions peeled and sliced
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

• Combine the chicken with ingredients from onion to salt and rub well.
• Place in a saucepan, pouring a cup of water, and cook on medium low flame, cooking by flipping the chicken till done.
• While the chicken gets done, soak the dal for 15 minutes. Cook with water in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles till done. Drain and set aside. The dal should be cooked el dente.
• To prepare the paste, heat oil and add 3/4 cup of coconut. Saute for a couple of minutes.
• Add the remaining ingredients and saute till the coconut turns crisp and brown. Do not burn. Switch off and add the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut and mix. Allow to cool. Add a little water and grind into a smooth paste.
• To prepare the filling, heat oil. Saute all ingredients except the coriander leaves till the onion is wilted.
• Add the coriander leaves and 1 tbsp of the cooked chana dal, mix well and switch off.
• Once the chicken is done, lift up and reserve into a plate. Fill the cavity with the prepared onion filling - just enough to fill. Tie the legs or prick with toothpicks to hold in place.
• Into the gravy which is simmering (the one we cooked the chicken in), add the coconut paste, the remaining chana dal and the filling if any remaining.
• Allow it to cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken and cook for another minute. Switch off.
• Heat ghee and fry the pearl onions till crisp. Pour over the gravy and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rice or pathiri.

Notes

You can fill the cavity with a couple of boiled eggs, but I avoided it, since the kids are not very fond of eggs, and it may cause the cavity of the chicken to tear, if overstuffed.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page to see what the other Blogging Marathoners are doing this BM#88

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