The ‘Murg Mussallam ’ (literally means whole chicken) is one such delicacy perfected by the cooks of Awadh. It is quite common to cook this dish on ceremonial occasions as it lends a certain majesty to the dastarkhwan. And in this region the competence of cook is gauged by his ability to cook this dish. The preparation of Murg Mussallam requires a good command over the blending of spices and knowledge of heat control. Purists prefer country chicken to the broiler for the cooking of any chicken dish because they consider the farm chicken no match the robust roaster even though the cooking tome and processing is longer in the later case. 

Method:

Clean and wash the chicken, taking care to wash the inside well. Prick all over with the fork. Grind the raw papaya to a paste –and apply it with salt on the chicken rubbing it in well. Marinate for 2 hours. (If a broiler chicken is being  used then there is no need to marinate in the papaya paste). Meanwhile, finely slice the onions and fry in ghee till golden brown. Remove and grind half the onions to a paste and keep aside. Also grind garlic and ginger to a paste. Then lightly roast ingredients of masala A and B separately on a griddle and grind to a paste. For the stuffing, hard boil 4 eggs, chop and keep aside. Blanch and peel the almonds and cut into the slivers. Keep aside. Now, remove the papaya paste off the chicken completely. Dissolve the saffron colour in kewra jal and apply on the chicken rubbing inside also. In a bowl, mix masala A and B in the curd and blend well. Then add the coloured chicken to this mix, rub well and marinate for 25 minutes. Then  mix half of the fried onions in chopped boiled eggs and stuff inside the body cavity of the chicken. Truss the chicken by bringing the wings and legs close to the body and tie with a thread. Put a lagan or patili on fire and pour the ghee which was used for frying the onions and the chicken along with the marinade. Simmer for 30 minutes or till the chicken is done and the ghee appears on the sides. When done, place on a platter and remove the thread. Place the silver leaves on the chicken and garnish with almond slivers. Serve hot with the warqui paratha or sheermal.