Indian Cooking Tips: How To Make Saffron Chicken At Home

Indian cuisine has a repertoire of rich and wholesome curries that never fails to impress. And if you are a fan of Indian chicken curries you would know the countless variety that exist in this country. As a result, over the time, Indian chefs have become experimental when it comes to chicken Chicken is a versatile meat that can be marinated and cooked in many spices and styles, promising a blast each time.

From the classic butter chicken and kadhai chicken to chicken rara and malai chicken, Indian chicken curries boasts of such an endless variety that one can almost have a different chicken curry every day for dinner! Picture some succulent chunks of chicken simmering in tantalising gravy with an inviting aroma- a chicken curry is the ultimate crowd pleaser, be it in a restaurant or on an Indian dinner party menu.

And while India boasts of various flavours of chicken curries from different regions, a simple change in one or two ingredients can make for an all new chicken curry. For instance, this saffron chicken curry which is a mouth-watering melange of spices along with saffron (kesar), lending a glorious yellow tint to the curry.

(Also Read: 28 Best Indian Chicken Recipes)

Saffron, one of the most expensive spices in the world, is an excellent substitute for synthetic food colours, especially in the Indian cuisine. Apart from rich Indian curries, the spice is also used in traditional Indian desserts such as kheer and shrikhand. In this chicken recipe, fried chicken chunks are added and cooked with a mix of aromatic spices such as ginger powder, cloves, cinnamon, saunf and red chilli powder before topping it with saffron threads. The dish is covered and slow-cooked till the chicken is completely infused with the saffron flavour.

Find the full recipe of saffron chicken here.

Saffron, besides being a beautiful addition to a number of dishes, also has many health benefits. Apart from protecting against cancer with the help of water soluble carotene called crocin, saffron has also demonstrated in many studies to be useful in the treatment of age related mental impairment. Most common of all, saffron is a stimulant tonic and very effective to soothe cold and fever.

Saffron chicken is a wonderful dinner option when paired with rice or roti. Try it at home and let us know your experience in the comments section below.