Mizoram Chicken Mizo Style Simple Garlic

Method

1. 1

   Place chicken in pot: Put all chicken pieces into a wide, heavy pot. No oil — Mizo chicken is prepared without frying.

2. 2

   Add aromatics: Add coarsely crushed garlic, sliced ginger and slit green chilli. The garlic quantity is generous by most Indian standards — this is characteristic of Mizo cooking.

3. 3

   Add turmeric and water: Add turmeric and 3 cups water.

4. 4

   Add salt: Add salt.

5. 5

   Bring to a boil: Heat on medium-high. Bring to a full boil. Skim any foam.

6. 6

   Reduce and cook covered: Reduce to medium. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is completely cooked through. Test by piercing the thickest piece — juices should run clear.

7. 7

   The Mizo difference: The absence of oil and frying means the chicken flavour comes through cleanly — the garlic and ginger create a clear, fragrant broth rather than a spiced oil coating. The result tastes completely different from an oil-fried chicken preparation.

8. 8

   Taste the broth: The broth should be golden, slightly spiced from the chilli and turmeric and deeply fragrant from the garlic and ginger.

9. 9

   Serve as both meat and soup: In Mizo tradition, the chicken and broth are served together — the broth is drunk and the meat is eaten simultaneously.

10. 10

    Garnish and serve: Scatter spring onions. Serve with steamed rice.

11. 11

    Note: Mizo-style chicken is found at every Mizo household and at every Mizo restaurant — it is the simplest and most frequently ordered preparation. The complete absence of oil distinguishes it from every other regional Indian chicken dish. Mizo cuisine is one of the few regional Indian cuisines where oil-free cooking is the default rather than the exception — reflecting both the Mizo food philosophy and the practical cooking traditions developed in the isolated hill communities of Mizoram.