Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Murghi Na Farcha
Murghi Na Farcha (Parsi-Style Chicken with Nutmeg and Cumin)

Murghi Na Farcha

Parsi-Style Chicken with Nutmeg and Cumin
Non-vegetarianOrigin Parsi

Skinless chicken drumsticks coated in a spiced vinegar and Worcestershire marinade, then fried and baked. The outside is crisp and savoury, with warm cumin, cinnamon and clove in the coating.

Marinade spices

3.7 gMixed into the marinade paste (step 4)
01
2.1 g1 teaspoon
spice
03
~0.3 g1 pinch
spice
Grind the cumin coarsely, then stir in the cinnamon and clove.

Everything else

01
9 g3 cloves
aromatic
02
16 g4 cm
aromatic
03
3 g2 chillies
vegetable
04
15 g1 tablespoon
souring agent
05
16 g1 tablespoon
souring agent
06
16 g2 tablespoons
flour
07
800 g8 drumsticks
poultry
08
Oilfor deep-frying
to taste
oil/fat
09
100 g2 eggs
egg
10
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
  2. Grind 2.1 g cumin seed coarsely in a pestle and mortar, then mix in 1.3 g ground cinnamon and 0.3 g ground clove to make the marinade spices.
  3. Blend 9 g garlic, 16 g fresh ginger and 4 g green bird’s eye chilli to a coarse paste.
  4. Add the marinade spices, 15 g malt vinegar, 16.2 g Worcestershire sauce, 15.6 g plain flour, salt to taste and 20 ml water to the paste; mix to a thick marinade.
  5. Cut shallow slits in 800 g chicken drumsticks and rub the marinade over them, pressing it into the slits. Leave for 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
  6. Heat oil, for deep-frying, to 170°C (340°F); a cube of bread should turn golden in about 30 seconds.
  7. Dip the drumsticks in 100 g beaten egg and fry in batches for 3–4 minutes, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
  8. Put the fried drumsticks on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, until cooked through.

Don't have something?

Cumin seed
  • Ground cumin

    Use 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.

  • Black cumin seeds

    Use equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.

  • Fennel seed

    Use 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Ground cinnamon
  • Ground Ceylon cinnamon

    Milder and sweeter than ground cassia: use about 1.5 times the weight.

  • Cassia bark (Chinese cinnamon)

    Grind the same weight of cassia bark in a spice mill until powdery, or simmer a piece whole and lift it out before serving.

  • Ground mace

    Use 40 to 50% of the weight; offers a delicate, sweet, woodsy fragrance that complements rich curries without dominating.

Ground clove
  • Ground allspice

    Use 1.5–2 times the weight; it has a similar warm pungency but is milder and rounder, so the dish loses clove’s sharp medicinal heat.

  • Ground cinnamon (cassia)

    Use the same weight; it gives warmth but is sweeter and lacks clove’s strength, so use only if the amount is small.

Garlic
  • Garlic paste

    Use equal weight. Fry gently in oil or ghee with the ginger; incorporates smoothly into curries without visible minced bits.

  • Garlic powder

    Use 15% to 20% of the weight (about 1 g for every 5 to 6 g fresh cloves). Whisk into sauces; gives a savoury, toasted garlic flavour without raw pungency.

  • Shallot

    Use 1.5 times the weight, very finely minced. Sauté until golden; provides savoury allium sweetness, though it lacks garlic's pungent sulphur bite.

Fresh ginger
  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight. Sauté in hot fat until the raw allium smell disappears; slightly wetter, but provides identical warmth and pungency.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 20% to 25% of the weight (1 g for every 4 to 5 g fresh). Stir into the gravy; adds peppery heat and warmth, though it misses the crisp, zesty kick of raw root.

Green bird's eye chilli
  • Bird's eye green chilli

    Use the same weight; heat and flavour are very close.

  • Green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; deseed for less heat. Larger chillies are more watery.

  • Fresh green chilli

    Use 1.5 to 2 times the weight; chop finely and adjust heat by tasting.

Malt vinegar
  • White malt vinegar

    Use the same weight; sharper and clearer; reduce salt slightly.

  • White vinegar

    Use 90% of the weight, diluted with 10% water; harsher, so taste.

  • Lime juice

    Use the same weight; fresher sourness but no malt flavour; reduce salt.

Worcestershire sauce
  • Soy sauce

    Use the same weight; it is saltier, so reduce added salt and taste before finishing.

  • Vinegar

    Use 60–70% of the weight; it is sharper, so add a pinch of sugar to soften it.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 50% of the weight; it gives sourness but not the same savoury depth, so adjust salt and sugar.

Plain flour
  • Whole wheat flour

    Use the same weight, add 10–15% more water and rest the dough for 20 minutes; the result is heavier and nuttier.

  • Rice flour

    Use the same weight for crisp coatings; for doughs use no more than half rice flour with wheat flour, or it will be crumbly.

  • Cornflour

    For thickening use half the weight, mixed with cold water; it is not suitable for bread or chapati dough.

Chicken drumstick
  • Chicken leg

    Use the same weight; larger pieces, so add 5–10 minutes cooking time and check at the bone.

  • Chicken thigh

    Use the same weight; boneless thigh cooks faster by 5–10 minutes. More juicy and less bony.

  • Chicken pieces

    Use the same weight; choose bone-in pieces for similar richness. Adjust time by size.

Oil
  • Vegetable oil

    Use the same weight. It is neutral and behaves the same in frying and tempering; no noticeable change in flavour.

  • Corn or vegetable oil

    Use the same weight. Neutral and good for high heat; the dish will taste virtually the same.

  • Groundnut oil

    Use the same weight. It has a mild nutty flavour and is good for Indian cooking; heat until just hot, not smoking, so the nuttiness does not dominate.

Egg
  • Chickpea flour

    For binding, use about 10 g chickpea flour mixed with 20 ml water per egg and rest for 10 minutes. Denser and nuttier; not suitable for baking or coating in the same way.

  • Full-fat natural yoghurt

    Use about 30 g per egg for moisture and binding in koftas or fillings. Adds tang and softness; will not set or glaze like egg.

  • Tofu

    Use the same weight, mashed, for egg-like bulk in curries. Soft and bland; add extra spices and do not expect it to bind.

Similar dishes

Saas ni Macchi
Fish in Creamy Garlic Sauce
Saas ni Macchi is creamy, mild, rich and slightly sharp with a tangy egg-and-vinegar base and tomato-coriander finish, while this dish is crisp and savoury with warm cumin, cinnamon and clove in the coating.
  • Same: Saas ni Macchi shares garlic, cumin seed, green bird's eye chilli, malt vinegar, egg, plain flour, salt and oil with this dish.
  • Different: Saas ni Macchi uses white fish, onion, butter, caster sugar, cherry tomato and coriander, and lacks this dish's Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon and clove; it is a creamy sauce curry with fish folded in at the end, not a coated fried-and-baked chicken.
Masala Omelettes
Masala Omelettes tastes soft and juicy with onion, tomato and lemon, while this dish is crisp savoury chicken with vinegar, Worcestershire and warm spices.
  • Same: Masala Omelettes shares cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli, egg, salt and oil with this dish.
  • Different: Masala Omelettes uses onion, tomato, coriander, Kashmiri chilli powder, turmeric and lemon juice, and it lacks chicken, flour, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, ginger, garlic, cinnamon and clove; it is cooked quickly as an omelette rather than marinated, fried and baked.
Anda Bhurji
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Anda Bhurji is soft, savoury and lightly tangy from lemon with green-chilli heat, while this dish is crisp and savoury with vinegar, Worcestershire and warm cumin, cinnamon and clove.
  • Same: Anda Bhurji shares green bird’s eye chilli, cumin seed and salt with this dish, and both use egg.
  • Different: Anda Bhurji is a scrambled egg dish with onion, tomato, turmeric, Kashmiri chilli powder, coriander leaves and lemon juice, cooked in vegetable oil, while this dish is coated chicken with flour, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon and clove, then fried and baked.
Haraa Masalewala Murgh
Coriander, Tamarind and Mint Chicken
Haraa Masalewala Murgh tastes herbaceous and mildly hot with a lemon-bright sauce, while this dish tastes crisp and savoury with warm cumin, cinnamon and clove.
  • Same: Haraa Masalewala Murgh shares chicken, cumin seed, green bird’s eye chilli, ginger and garlic with this dish.
  • Different: Haraa Masalewala Murgh is a simmered curry with onion, cashew nut, coriander leaves, mint leaves, lemon juice and vegetable oil, and it lacks this dish’s flour, egg, malt vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon and clove coating.