This is an Assamese delicacy. A family friend hailing from Guwahati made this for us and we were blown away by the flavour. I had not seen black sesame seeds being used for chicken. White sesame is what is commonly used for fish curries. As per our friend, the black sesame used in Assam is much smaller in size but much stronger in flavour. I have been cooking it with the regular sesame seeds available on this side of the country. However, getting the Black sesame from Assam is on my list.
Serves – 3 Time – 40 minutes
Ingredients
- Chicken – 500 gms. With Bone or Boneless. I prefer with bone and big pieces
- Onion – 1 big chopped & 1 grated
- Ginger grated – 1 inch
- Garlic crushed – 10-12 cloves
- Black Sesame seeds – 2 tbsp
- Black Peppercorns – 1 tsp
- Green chillies – 2
- Mustard Oil – ¼ cup
- Sugar – ½ tsp
- Salt to taste
- Garnishing – 1 tbsp Mustard oil + 2 green chillies
Method
- Clean the chicken & pat dry
- Marinate the chicken with grated onion, ginger, garlic & salt for 2 hrs
- Dry Roast the black sesame on low flame till fragrant.
- Dry Roast the peppercorns on low flame till fragrant, separately. This is an important step so don’t skip or try to roast them together.
- Grind the sesame seeds, peppercorns & green chillies into a fine paste. Use approx 2 tbsp water
- Heat oil. Once hot, add sugar for caramelization of oil.
- Next add chopped onions. Fry till golden brown
- Add the marinated chicken. Mix well. Fry for 2-3 minutes on high flame and then cover till 95% cooked
- Add the paste(step 5) and using little warm water coat the chicken well
- Cook for another 3-4 minutes and switch off the flame
- Transfer the chicken in to the serving dish
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small pan, then add slit green chillies and pour the mixture over the chicken and serve hot
My Medley Rasoi 