Let's begin with preparing our first marinade. Clean and thoroughly wash chicken pieces.

Make horizontal slits across each chicken leg for the marinade to penetrate into the meat. Mix in lemon juice and salt and rub it thoroughly over the chicken pieces. Let it sit for at least an hour.

Chicken pieces rubbed with lemon juice and salt.

Meanwhile let's prepare our caramelized onions. Heat oil in a pan, add sliced onions and saute till they are brown in color. Allow it to cool down and then using a mixer grind it into a paste.

Assemble: rest of our ingredients spices..

Cut, and deseed the papaya. Remove the skin and chop it into pieces. Toss the chopped pieces into a grinder and make a paste.

And curd, papaya paste, caramelized onion paste and ginger-garlic paste.

To the marinated chicken let's apply our second marination.

Mix in curd, papaya paste, caramelized onions, ginger-garlic paste...

And all of the spices.

Blend all ingredients until it forms a smooth paste.

Rub it over the chicken pieces. Sprinkle saffron strands over it.

Cover and place this bowl in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

This is how it's going to look after 2 hours.

In a pan heat ghee/oil and add marinated chicken to it. Saute until all the liquid has evaporated and the marination is reduced to 1/4 its quantity. This will take at least 30 - 40 minutes on a medium flame. Adjust your seasonings at this point.

This is what it will look like - all cooked and dried up.

Chicken chaap is ready. Serve it hot with vinegar onion and naan.