Ingredients

1. Chicken(with bones) - 600 grams
2. Oil for brushing - as required

First marinade

3. Ginger and garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
4. Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
5. Salt - as per taste

Second marinade

6. Oil - 1 tbsp
7. Besan (gram flour) - 2 tbsp
8. Ginger and garlic paste - 2 tsp
9. Green chillies (chopped) - 2
10. Chilli powder - 2 tsp
11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Curd (thick) - 2/3 cup
13. Nutmeg and Mace powder(jaiphal and javithri powder) - 1/2 tsp
14. Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
15. Crushed Kasuri methi leaves - 2 tsp

Coating

16. Cashew nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp
17. Coriander leaves (chopped) - 3 tbsp or 1/3 cup
18. Saffron strings, dissolved in warm milk (20ml) - 2 pinches
19. Egg - 1

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with first marinade and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Heat a non-stick pan or any non stick vessel, add oil, when it gets warm add ginger and garlic paste stir it for a few seconds, then add green chillies, stir for 15 seconds, then add besan, and roast until its raw smell is gone or roast for a few seconds. Do not roast it on a high flame.
3. Add chilli powder and turmeric powder stir it for a few seconds, remove it from fire and let it cool.
4. Add nutmeg and mace powder, cardamom powder, kasuri methi,salt as per taste, and curd into the roasted besan mixture and mix with your hands (can crush the lumps), so that there are no lumps in it.
5. Add chicken pieces and mix well. The chicken pieces should be coated well with the marinade. the marinade should be thick.
6. Take the chicken pieces and skew it in a wooden skewer or just arrange in the oven tray covered with aluminium foil.
7. Rub the remaining marinade over the chicken.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 240 degree celcius (high temperature) and then place the tray in the oven for 10 minutes.
9. After 10 minutes turn the chicken pieces, brush it with a little oil and keep it again for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked well.
10. When the chicken is fully cooked, take out the chicken pieces and coat it with the egg mixture. Be careful as the chicken pieces will be hot.
11. To make the egg mixture - mix all the ingredients with saffron milk with a fork. You can add a pinch of salt.
12. Cook it again in the oven for 5-8 minutes, turn over the chicken pieces once half way through and brush it with the egg mixture and drizzle few drops of oil on top to give the chicken a glaze.
13. All chopped cashewnuts, coriander leaves and saffron should be there on the chicken. Cook until the colour is changed and its coating is cooked well.
14. Take out the chicken pieces and serve it as a starter or serve with pulav rice. You will get the good flavours of cardamom and saffron.

Tava or pan fry

15. If you want, after coating the chicken with the egg mixture, you can fry it on a tava with few drops of oil.
16. Fry it evenly on all sides, till the egg mixture is roasted well.

Notes

1. The marinade should be thick and check the seasoning by tasting the marinade.
2. Be careful with nutmeg, as extra nutmeg can make the dish bitter.
3. If 1 tsp of mace powder is used, then only a pinch of nutmeg should be used (1 tsp mace powder + 1/4 tsp nutmeg powder).
4. If you do not like mace, use just a big pinch of nutmeg powder. If you want to avoid nutmeg use about 1/4 tsp of mace powder.
5. If you want you can use hung curd (drain the water from the curd, wrap it in a muslin cloth and squeeze well).