Agra is famous for the Taj Mahal and its Mughal era monuments, but the city's food scene draws just as much devotion, and a small dhaba in the Sikandra area is proof of that. Located on Nagla Chuchana Road, this eatery has built a reputation for a chicken curry so good that people travel nearly 60 kilometres just to eat it.
A cook with magic hands, and customers who bring their own raw chicken
The shop owner says the cook working there has such skill that customers often buy raw chicken elsewhere and still bring it to this dhaba to have it cooked. Home style spices and whole spices go into the curry, and nothing extra is added to thicken the gravy artificially. That commitment to keeping the recipe simple and pure is what the owner credits for pulling customers in from far beyond the neighbourhood.
Akash reveals the secret, pure mustard oil and home spices
Akash, the cook who prepares the chicken near Nagla Chuchana in Sikandra, says his curry isn't just popular locally, it has built a name across distant areas too. He claims that anyone who tastes his chicken once ends up becoming a regular. According to him, the secret lies in pure mustard oil, home spices and whole spices, a combination that makes the flavour so good that people keep coming back from far away.
For the gravy, he uses tomato, onion, ginger and garlic. The chicken is first cleaned thoroughly and washed in clean water, and only after that is the paste of tomato, onion, ginger and garlic prepared.
How the curry comes together in a pressure cooker
Akash explains that whole spices are first added to pure mustard oil. Once the spices blend well into the oil, onion paste goes in first, followed by tomato paste, and finally a paste of ginger, garlic and green chilli. All of this is roasted on a low flame, and if the mixture starts sticking to the pan, a little warm water is added. This blend is stirred and cooked for roughly 15 to 20 minutes.
The chicken pieces are then added, along with water in a quantity that depends on how thick or thin the gravy needs to be. The cooker is left to build up 2 to 3 whistles before the gas is switched off. Once the pressure releases, fresh coriander, a little crushed ginger and a light sprinkling of garam masala are added on top, completing the dish.
Customers travel 50 to 60 kilometres, and orders get booked in advance
Akash says the use of pure oil and spices, combined with visible cleanliness at the dhaba, is what keeps customers coming back. Several of his customers travel from 50 to 60 kilometres away. Many even call ahead to book their order over the phone before arriving, so the chicken is ready by the time they reach. He insists that the gravy is made using only tomato, onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli, with no other ingredient mixed in.
No gram flour used to thicken the gravy, and here's what it costs
According to Akash, many places use gram flour or similar ingredients to thicken their gravy, but that ends up spoiling the actual taste, something customers don't appreciate. At his dhaba, no such shortcut is used, which is why people eat here with such enthusiasm. On pricing, if a customer brings their own 1 kilogram of raw chicken to get it cooked, the preparation charge is Rs 250. If a customer instead wants everything prepared from scratch by the dhaba, 1 kilogram of the flavourful chicken is served for just Rs 490.
