Weekdays call for quick lunches, especially if you are working from home. Balancing office and household chores get hectic at times; this is why we resort to basic, uncomplicated foods like dal-chawal, khichdi etc for a weekday lunch. These recipes are quick and easy to make and fulfilling to the core. We agree dal-chawal defines wholesome and comfort but having it every day can be boring. What if we told you we have an amazing recipe to break the monotony, that too in just a few minutes? That's right! Here's chicken bharta for you that can be prepared with the left-over chicken tandoori from your last meal. It is not only quick and easy to make but also helps you put together a delicious meal seamlessly. Smokey, butter and loaded with spice - this meaty delight is nothing like you ever tasted before.
Also Read: Indian Cooking Tips: How To Make Kadhai Chicken At Home
How To Make Chicken Bharta For Lunch | Chicken Bharta Recipe:
Let's start with understanding what 'bharta' is. Popular in India, bharta stands for anything that is mashed. If you explore, you will find different types of bharta recipes across India - aloo bharta, tomato bharta, baingan bharta, egg bharta and more. You can literally make bharta with anything and everything. All you need to do is mash the ingredient, add spices of your choice and mix everything together. Besides being extremely delicious, bharta gives you enough room to explore and experiment too (with the recipe).
In this particular chicken bharta recipe, we experience flavours of North Indian cuisine. Here, tandoori chicken is deboned and shredded or cut into very small pieces. Then these pieces are cooked well in gravy made with butter, tomato puree, kalonji, cream and green chilli. And of course, salt is adjusted as per the palate. Click here for the recipe.
You may also use boiled chicken, instead of tandoori chicken, and cook it well in onion, tomato, ginger, garlic et al. Just make sure, the consistency of the dish remains dry/semi-dry to get the best flavours out of it.
Pair it with rice, roti or paratha and indulge! You may also place it between two bread slices or a burger bun and prepare chicken bharta sandwich/burger with it.
Try this dish today and let us know how you liked it. Enjoy your meal!
About Somdatta SahaExplorer- this is what Somdatta likes to call herself. Be it in terms of food, people or places, all she craves for is to know the unknown. A simple aglio olio pasta or daal-chawal and a good movie can make her day.