A classic Bengali summer dish — chicken slow-cooked in the pulp of charred raw mango, layered with kasundi, honey, and whole spice water. Tangy, smoky, deeply aromatic. The mango does everything.
"The more the mango burns, the better the curry. Don't be afraid of the black."
— Baba's Saying
Ingredients
1 kg chicken
1 large raw mango
1 whole medium garlic
~1 inch ginger
3 medium onions
Mustard oil
1 tbsp kasundi
1 tbsp honey
4 cloves · 4 cardamom · 1 inch cinnamon
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
Dried red chillies
Fresh coriander
Salt to taste
Method
- Air fry the whole raw mango at 200°C for 25 minutes, and the garlic head and dried red chillies for 10–12 minutes, until the mango skin is deeply charred and the flesh completely soft.
- Peel the charred mango skin and scoop out the golden pulp. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out. Blend with the chillies, kasundi, and honey into a smooth paste. Rinse the mixer with a little water and keep it — don't waste that flavour.
- Marinate the chicken in the mango-kasundi-honey paste. Rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare two types of onion: 2 onions roughly chopped with chilli and ginger into a coarse paste, and 1 onion thinly julienned. Keep them separate.
- Heat mustard oil until it just smokes. Fry the onion-ginger paste on medium until deep golden. Add all the spice powders — turmeric, chilli, cumin, coriander, 1 tbsp each — and cook until fragrant.
- Add the marinated chicken. Begin the kosha — cook on medium heat, stirring and letting the chicken caramelize and absorb the masala. Partway through, simmer the whole garam masala (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon) separately in a little water and add only that spiced water to the pan — not the whole spices, which would overpower the dish. Add the julienned onions at this stage too.
- Adjust consistency — jhol style for rice, reduce further for a thicker gravy. Finish with a drizzle of raw mustard oil and scattered fresh coriander.
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Baba's InnovationThe traditional recipe chars the mango over open flame. Baba's idea: use the air fryer at 200°C. You get beautifully blistered skin and jammy golden pulp — no fire needed. His recipe, his upgrade.
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My AdditionA drizzle of raw mustard oil just before serving. Cooking mellows the mustard's sharpness — this brings it back, bright and pungent, right at the end.
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Cook's Honest NoteChicken releases a lot of water as it cooks — go easy on any added liquid or you'll be waiting a while for the gravy to thicken. Keep the heat on medium with the lid off and let it reduce. Also: mango variety matters. A yellow raw mango gives a fruitier tang and golden hue; a greener one is sharper and more acidic.
