Bhangjeera Chicken: A Himalayan Specialty Unique to Koyal

Most Indian restaurant menus look broadly similar. The same dozen or so curries appear in different combinations across the country. Bhangjeera Chicken is not on those menus - it is a regional Himalayan dish from the foothills of Uttarakhand, and the version we serve on the Koyal a la carte is the only one you will find in Surrey.

What is bhangjeera

Bhangjeera is the Hindi name for perilla seeds - small, nutty, slightly earthy seeds from a plant in the mint family. They grow at altitude in the Indian Himalayas and have been used in Garhwali and Kumaoni cooking for centuries. The flavour is hard to pin down: nutty like sesame, slightly bitter like fenugreek, and faintly smoky when toasted. They are not interchangeable with anything else.

Chef Nand Kishor grew up cooking with bhangjeera in his home village. When Koyal opened, he set up a direct supply line back to Uttarakhand specifically so the kitchen could put dishes like this on the menu without compromise.

The dish

The chicken is cut into thigh pieces - dark meat, on the bone - and slow-cooked with onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and the toasted bhangjeera seeds ground into a coarse masala. The seeds give the gravy a nutty body that is very different from a cream-based or yoghurt-based curry. There is no dairy in the dish - the texture comes entirely from the seeds and the slow reduction.

The result is a curry that is rich but not heavy, with a deep, slightly toasty undertone. It is the kind of dish that surprises diners who think they have tried every kind of Indian curry.

What to eat it with

A plain naan or steamed basmati rice. The dish is full-flavoured enough that you do not want a strongly flavoured side competing with it. A glass of medium-bodied red - a Grenache or a Pinot Noir from the wine list - pairs well.

Where it fits in the menu

Bhangjeera Chicken sits on the a la carte alongside more familiar mains like the Lamb Shank Nihari and Masala Butter Chicken. It is the dish to order if you want to taste something specifically Himalayan that you cannot get anywhere else. Book a table at Koyal Surbiton to try it.