Bengali quail in cashew and poppy seed sauce

Ingredients

• 6 quail
• 120 ml of plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons of onion paste
• 2 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tablespoons of green chili paste
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon of cashew nut paste (about 10-12 cashews)
• 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seed paste
• 1 tablespoon of grape paste
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and mace paste
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cubèbe pepper
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 2 teaspoons of red chili powder
• 2 tablespoons of dried cilantro
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• 2 black cardamom pods, 5-6 green cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, 3-4 cloves, 3 bay leaves
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of mustard or sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon of ghee
• warm water
• salt

Remove the skin from the quail, wash them thoroughly, and pat them dry.

Mix them with 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, a pinch of salt, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of yogurt; let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a large frying pan and lightly brown the quail; set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the remaining oil with a little ghee and brown the whole spices.

When you start, add the onion paste and cook it over medium heat until it turns golden.

Add the remaining ginger-garlic dough, the remaining whipped yogurt, and the green chili, cashew, poppy seed, and grape pastes.

Add the turmeric, red chili pepper, cilantro, cumin, nutmeg paste, and salt, and cook until browned, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Once the oil has separated from the spices, add the quail and coat them in the sauce for a few minutes.

Pour the warm water to the desired level, cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the meat is tender and the sauce is thick, sprinkle with garam masala and cubed black pepper.

Gently mix, turn off the heat, add the remaining ghee, and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes.