Handpicked leg pieces from Bhuna Murg

Things You need to cook Bhuna Murg: (For 4 persons)

For marinade:

8 chicken pieces (I used only leg pieces, skinned)

Lime Juice (2 tbsp)

Turmeric powder (1 tbsp)

Red chili powder (1 tbsp)

Salt (2 tsp)

Yogurt (4 tbsp)

Finely chopped onion (1 medium size)

Mustard Oil (1 tbsp)

For gravy:

Mustard oil - 3-4 tbsp (If you wish, you can add more.)

Green cardamom  + cloves + cinnamon - 3 of each

Bay leaves - 1

Thinly sliced onion - 2 cups 

Garlic-ginger paste - 2 tbsp

Tomato paste - 1 (medium size)

Turmeric Powder, red chili powder, coriander powder - 1 tbsp of each

Water

Lemon Juice made of - 1 piece 

Process to make Bhuna Murg:

1. Wash the chicken pieces well and keep it aside for pat-drying. 
2. Now you have to marinade the pieces using salt, few drops of lemon juice, turmeric powder and red chili powder. 
3. Remember, you have to keep the pieces in a stain-less steel bow (yes, because non-reactive pot should be used for lemon based marinade).
4. Toss and rub the chicken pieces. Set the bowl in refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
5. Meanwhile you chop the onion. Mix it with yogurt and oil. 
6. Take out the chicken bowl from the refrigerator and mix onion+yogurt+oil with chicken. Allow it to marinate again for 1 hour.
7. Crush the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and peppercorn. Keep them aside. 
8. After 1 hour, take out the chicken bowl from the refrigerator. 
9. Now you have to shake off the marinade from the chicken pieces. 
10. Keep the marinade in a different bowl. 
11. Heat oil in a deep-bottom frying pan. 
12. Add chicken pieces and cook from both sides. Keep cooking until you see the pieces get slightly brown color. It would take approx 5-7 minutes. Take out the chicken pieces from the pan and keep them in a different bowl. 
13. Place the same pan on the oven. Don't add oil now. Allow it to heat up.
14. Add peppercorn, bay leaf, clove, cinnamon, cardamom. Let them sizzle. Add the marinade which you have kept in a different bowl..no? Add little sugar. Stir till the onion marinade becomes soft. 
15. Add ginger+garlic paste, turmeric powder and red chili powder, salt. Stir well for few minutes. Don't add water at this stage. 
16. Now add chicken pieces and cook for approximately 10 minutes by stirring occasionally. At this stage you have to add coriander powder. Stir till the chicken pieces are half cooked. Check if the raw smell of spices goes away.
17. Do you see the oil bubble rising up from the boiling curry? If yes, it indicates that the oil is separating from the spices. 
18. Now add water, slit green chili. Cover the pan with a lid. Let it be boiled for few minutes. Don't over-boil the chicken, else the pieces would fall of the bones. 
19. Once done, drizzle some lemon juice on the top. 
20. Remember, you should uncover the pan just before serving it. If you uncover the pan right after cooking, the chicken pieces would dry out. And you would not get that thin oily gravy which you see in the image above.  

Your Bhuna Murg is ready. You can serve it with hot rice, roti, nun or puri.