Eid Mubarak! It’s Nadia taking over the Dolce and Masala blog again today to share one of my favorite childhood dishes.  Growing up it was a running joke in our household that I would need to marry a driver/chef since I took no interest in cooking.  I did a stellar job of avoiding domestic activities like the plague. As the middle child, I was the one who entertained the family with jokes and over the top stories.  

Ironically, I took an interest in cooking to win my hubby’s (aka family chauffeur) heart. He is a hard core rice and curry guy. To everyone’s shock, my dishes came pretty close to my mom’s cooking once I made an earnest effort. Growing up, I intentionally did a bad job with chores to avoid getting tasked again. It worked like a charm back then. And although, I wasn’t cooking and creating like my sister, I was always in the kitchen with them and picked up a lot of their techniques along the way.

Like most Bangladeshi families we lived in a chaotic big extended family and always had large groups over for holiday meals. My mom was the best cook – or most enthusiastic at least – in the family. Bangladeshi mom’s always looked for ways to stretch simple curries to feed a huge tribe. Protein dishes always included one or two vegetables. One of her best comfort food dishes was Murgir Aloo Jhol (Chicken and Potato in Curry Gravy).

It was a simple and hearty dish and appeased the picky kids in the family who were not adventurous enough to love the dried fish delicacies popular in Bangladeshi home cooking. I was always content even with just the Jhol (gravy) and steamed white rice. Every Bangladeshi family has their own version of this recipe. Some prefer more gravy, while others like it bhuna style with more concentrated spice flavor. Don’t skip the Paanch Phoran seeds (which you can find on Amazon); this really elevates the curry and gives it the authentic Bengali flavor.

Print Recipe

Bangladeshi Homestyle Chicken and Potato Curry

A simple and hearty curry dish. Bangladeshi homestyle chicken and potato curry. Murgi Aloo Jhol like mom used to make.

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 3 lb bone-in whole chicken cut into medium sized pieces
• 4 large large potatoes cut in half
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 3 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste can substitute fresh chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste can substitute fresh chopped
• 1 bayleaf
• 6 whole peppercorn (alt use ½ tablespoon crushed blackpeper)
• 2 whole Cloves
• 2 Cardamom Pods
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (half used to sauce potatoes
• 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pantch puran seed
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam Masala
• 4-5 green chillies chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cups Water
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 45 minutes Servings Ingredients 3 lb bone-in whole chicken cut into medium sized pieces 4 large large potatoes cut in half 1 medium tomato chopped 3 medium onion thinly sliced 1 teaspoon ginger paste can substitute fresh chopped 1 teaspoon garlic paste can substitute fresh chopped 1 bayleaf 6 whole peppercorn (alt use ½ tablespoon crushed blackpeper) 2 whole Cloves 2 Cardamom Pods 1 teaspoon turmeric (half used to sauce potatoes 1 tablespoon Curry Powder 1/2 teaspoon pantch puran seed 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder 1 teaspoon Coriander 1 teaspoon garam Masala 4-5 green chillies chopped 1/2 cup olive oil 2 cups Water 1/4 cup cilantro chopped

Instructions

1. Heat 4 or 5 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Fry the cut potatoes with ½ tsp of turmeric over medium heat, let them turn golden brown in color, remove and keep aside.
2. Add the remaining oil in the same pan to temper the bay leaf, cardamom, peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon, and panch phoran.
3. Add sliced onion, fry until light golden brown in color. This step is essential to give a rich color and texture to the gravy.
4. Add the ginger and garlic paste, and cook until the raw smell is gone.
5. Add the remaining spices: salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, curry powder, chilli powder, garam masala, and tomatoes. Cook over medium heat until the masala starts separating from the oil; this typically takes 10 minutes.
6. Add the chicken pieces and green chillies. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. At this point the chicken will start releasing its juices.
7. Add in the fried potatoes and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. At this point add in 2 cups of water. I prefer to use boiling hot water. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
8. You can check the spice and salt level at this time. You can add more salt or red chilli powder if you want to make the curry spicier.
9. Give the curry 5 minutes to rest. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with steamed white rice.

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