Atta Chicken

Atta Chicken

Atta Chicken's reputation preceded my actual tasting of this most succulent chicken recipe. I first came to know of it when Mr.Hubby got transferred to a small town in Punjab called Bhatinda. Right after he settled there, the place suddenly came into limelight thanks to the hit movie 'Jab We Met' where the heroine hailed from Bhatinda. While there, Mr.Hubby would occasionally praise the best healthy chicken preparation he has ever had - Atta Chicken!

Atta Chicken......Sounded pretty interesting

Then even my elder daughter moved to Ludhiana, Punjab for a college project. Her roommate Gagandeep came from Kotkapura- the small town whose only claim to fame is its Atta Chicken! She visited kotkapura twice or maybe thrice and every time was guest at Gagandeep's place. Her journey was an experience in itself. They board the bus at Ludhiana which claimed to be a non-stop to Kotkapura but stopped at every small village it crossed. The jam packed bus made the journey bone tiring. The long journey was made short by the built-in TV playing loud Punjabi Bhagra numbers. Most of the songs were concerned with either comparing the women to a Patiala pegs or about drinking hard and doing the Bhagra harder!!! Finally when they did reach, my daughters reaction was this-"Its a semi-pind(village)!"."Ma! There is an actual kheti(Field) next to her place. Mustard and wheat is being cultivated in her back yard !!"

With freshest of ingredients, the food that was served at her place did taste awesome. Alu paratha and homemade Butter for breakfast, Rajma-Chawal for lunch and for dinner Atta Chicken! They had to pre-order the chicken as it took 3 hours to prepare and got exhausted faster than it was prepared.

My experience was a bit different. Whenever I happened to visit Bhatinda, Mr Hubby's friend  Mr Balwant Singh and his pretty wife, came to meet us, with not one but two Atta Chickens !!

Atta Chicken is a whole Chicken bird applied with special spices and covered by a thin muslin cloth. Then the whole chicken is covered with a thick layer of wheat dough and put in the  tandoor oven for roasting. When the outer layer is fully roasted, it is taken out of the tandoor oven. The covering is removed and the chicken cut and served. A mouth watering, delicious dish is ready.

It is said that the Atta Chicken can be carried on a journey . A good thing about this preparation is that, it doesn't loose it's taste for a good two weeks. It remains juicy and lip smacking.

The recipe is closely guarded by the people who started it all (Royal Atta Chicken of Kotkapura) and so this is a list of what we use in our kitchen .

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken......................................1 kg

Fresh Cream..........................................2 tbsp

Hung Curd...................................................2 tbsp

Ginger-Garlic Paste.................................1 tbsp

Vinegar....................................................1 tbsp

Coriander Powder..................................4 tbsp,coarsely ground

Turmeric powder......................................1/2 tsp

Salt..........................................................as per taste

Almonds& Pistacious.............................100 grams each

Wheat Flour Dough.....................................made with1kg wheat flour& water

1Muslin cloth.............................................30 cm-30 cm

Prick the chicken very well all over with a fork.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.Mix wheat flour and water to make a dough.

Stuff the chicken with peeled almonds and shelled pista.

Cover the chicken entirely with the mix.

Cover with the muslin cloth.

Cover with the dough and seal properly with damp hands.

Hang in the tandoor oven to cook.When the dough is absolutely charred it should be ready.

My elder Daughter

PIctures from : Google