Authentic Murgir Jhol Recipe is one of those comforting Bengali dishes that brings back memories of family lunches and Sunday gatherings.
Made with tender chicken, potatoes, and simple everyday spices, this homestyle chicken curry has a light, flavorful gravy that pairs perfectly with steamed rice.
Raised in Bengal, I often enjoyed Murgir Jhol cooked by my mother. With years of food blogging and hands‑on Bengali cooking, I now share this authentic homestyle chicken curry, tested for flavor and trusted for simplicity.
If you are a chicken lover, you must try our other chicken curry recipes: Bengali Chicken Kosha, Chicken Rezala Recipe, Chicken Stew with Vegetables
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Why Should You Make Murgir Jhol?
If you are a chicken lover, then you must try home style chicken curry or Murgir Jhol as it is
- Easy to prepare
- Made with few ingredients
- Paired with both rice and roti
- Simple but delicious
- Perfect for home party, special occasions and festivals (Nabami special Mangsho)
Murgir Jhol Ingredients
Chicken: Chicken bone pieces are preferred in murgir jhol. I always choose chicken legs or thigh pieces over breast pieces in this.
Even if bone pieces are not your preference, I still recommend you try this curry once with bone pieces; I promise you'll love it.
You can also make this chicken curry with country chicken (Deshi Murgi) instead of poultry chicken.
Vegetables: As many of you know, most of the Bengali curries cooked with potato and this has no exception. I always make this aloo diye murgir jhol with a good variety of potatoes for better outcomes.
Apart from potato I have used onion and tomato in this recipe.
Spice Powders: Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Red Chilli Powder.
Ginger-Garlic Paste: I always use homemade ginger and garlic paste for the better result.
Whole Spices: Cinnamon Stick
Oil: Mustard oil is my first pick for any Bengali curry. If you do not have mustard oil you can also use any refined vegetable oil.
Others: Salt, Green Chilli.
Instructions
Follow step-by-step instructions to learn the easy way to prepare this delicious Bengali sunday chicken curry with potatoes.
Although you may make murgir jhol in pressure cooker, I like to cook this dish in a pan or wok.
Wash the chicken pieces thoroughly under tap water, and later pat dry them using kitchen towel.
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl for marination. Add salt, turmeric powder and mustard oil on the chicken pieces and rub them well. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
If you have time, you can marinate the chicken pieces up to 2hrs.
Primary attraction of this chicken curry is large size potatoes. Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the oil and cook the potatoes with salt and turmeric powder. Remove the potatoes once they have turned golden and set them aside.
In the remaining oil, place the cinnamon stick. When the oil becomes fragrant, add the chopped onion. After a few minutes, add the ginger and garlic paste. Next add green chilli and stir for some time.
You can adjust the spice level according to your taste bud. If you love spicy food, then add more green chillies as it gives a nice flavor and aroma to the gravy.
Now add marinated chicken pieces and cook under medium to high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid for 5-7 minutes to cook the chicken. Then add the fried potatoes to the chicken.
After that, add all of the dry spice powders, including turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and salt to taste. Add chopped tomatoes next and cook until the tomatoes are soft and tender.
Now add 2 cups of warm water and allow to cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes. Add more water (3-4 cups) to the chicken and taste the salt.
Cover the pan and cook the chicken for 10 minutes on medium heat, or until the chicken pieces soften. Finally, turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes before serving.
Serving Suggestion
We prefer murgir laal jhol to pair with plain steamed rice. You can also have it with ghee rice, jeera rice, pulao, etc.
This curry also goes well with any type of Indian flatbread including roti, paratha, naan, kulcha, etc.
Interestingly, you can also have it with soft ladi pav or dinner roll.
Storage
You can store the leftover chicken curry. Allow to cool the chicken curry and later store it in a dry airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Reheat on stovetop or microwave when you want to consume the leftover curry.
Top tips
- If you're using frozen chicken, take it out of the freezer ahead of time and thaw it well.
- Always use homemade ginger and garlic paste for better outcome.
- After adding the marinated chicken to pan, cook it under medium to high heat for some time and later reduce the heat, and cook under low heat covering the pan with a lid. Slow cooking helps to cook the chicken pieces properly and avoids burning the masala.
FAQ
Authentic Bengali Murgir Jhol is a light and comforting chicken curry cooked in mustard oil with a thin, flavorful gravy. Unlike rich chicken curries made with a thick onion-tomato masala, Murgir Jhol uses simple spices and includes large fried potato pieces that absorb the delicious flavors. This homestyle Bengali dish is traditionally served with steamed rice and is loved for its simple, soul-satisfying taste.
For that beautiful red color in Bengali chicken curry, I usually use Kashmiri red chili powder. It adds a bright, appetizing color without making the curry too spicy.
Another trick is to cook the onion-tomato based gravy with spices in mustard oil until the oil separates, which gives a natural reddish color to the gravy. The addition of a pinch of turmeric can also enhance the red color without making the gravy spicy.
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Bengali Murgir Jhol Recipe
Materials
- 1 kg Chicken Pieces skinless
- 4-5 nos Potato cut into halves
- 2½ cups Onion chopped (approx 350 gms)
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Paste
- 1 no Tomato (small) chopped
- 2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- 2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- Salt to taste
- 5-6 nos Green Chilli
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- ⅔ cup Mustard Oil
Instructions
- Wash and clean the chicken pieces and take them in a bowl.
- Marinate the chicken pieces with salt, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and 1 tablespoon of mustard oil for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok and fry the potatoes with salt and turmeric powder.
- Once the potatoes turn golden, take them out and keep aside.
- Add cinnamon stick in the remaining oil.
- Once the oil turns aromatic, then add chopped onion.
- Saute for few minutes and add ginger and garlic paste.
- Add green chilli and stir for some time.
- Now add marinated chicken pieces and cook under medium to high heat.
- After 5-7 minutes, lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid and cook the chicken.
- Next add the fried potatoes in to the chicken.
- After that add all the dry spice powders including turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and salt to taste.
- Add chopped tomatoes next and cook until the tomatoes are soft and tender.
- Now add 2 cups of warm water and allow to cook the chicken.
- Add more water (3-4 cups) to the chicken and taste the salt.
- Cover the pan with a lid and allow to cook the chicken for 10 minutes under medium heat or until the chicken pieces soften.
- Finally, switch off the gas and give 5 minutes standing time before you serve this.
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