Chicken 65

Ingredients

• 600 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp thick plain yoghurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 500 ml cooking oil, for deep frying
• 2 tbsp oil, for the tempering
• 12 curry leaves
• 4 green chillies, slit lengthways
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice, for finishing
• 1 small onion, sliced into rings, to serve

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken dry and place it in a bowl. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, pepper, salt, yoghurt and lemon juice, and mix until every piece is coated.
2. Cover the bowl and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours for deeper flavour.
3. Stir the beaten egg, cornflour and plain flour into the marinated chicken. The coating should cling to the meat like a thick paste; add a spoonful of water only if it feels too stiff to mix.
4. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan over medium-high heat to about 175°C. A drop of batter should sizzle and rise within a few seconds.
5. Fry the chicken in 2 or 3 batches, without crowding the pan, for 5–6 minutes per batch. Turn occasionally until deep red-brown and crisp, and a piece cut open reaches 74°C with no pink inside.
6. Lift each batch out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Let the oil come back to temperature before adding the next batch.
7. In a wide pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of tempering oil over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and fry for 20 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
8. Add the curry leaves and slit green chillies and stir for 20–30 seconds until the leaves turn crisp. Stand back, as they will spatter.
9. Tip in all the fried chicken and toss over the heat for 1 minute so it picks up the flavoured oil. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with the lemon juice.
10. Serve hot, straight away, with the onion rings and extra lemon wedges on the side.

Tips

• Use thigh meat for juicier bites; breast works but dries out quickly, so fry it for a minute less.
• Keep the oil at a steady 170–175°C. Too cool gives greasy chicken, and too hot browns the coating before the centre cooks.
• Kashmiri chilli gives a rich red colour without too much heat. If you use regular chilli powder, reduce it to 1 teaspoon.
• Serve straight away, as the coating softens as it stands.