Chicken Pakoras

Ingredients

• 500 g boneless chicken thigh, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 100 g gram flour (besan), sifted
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 1 tsp crushed red chilli flakes
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 pinch baking soda
• 120 ml cold water, plus a little more if needed
• 750 ml cooking oil, for deep frying
• 1 tsp chaat masala, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Put the chicken in a bowl with the ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and 1 tsp of the salt. Mix well with your hands until every piece is coated.
2. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Do not marinate much longer, as the lemon juice will start to toughen the meat.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the gram flour, rice flour, crushed coriander seeds, ajwain, chilli flakes, green chillies, fresh coriander, baking soda and the remaining salt.
4. Pour in the cold water gradually, whisking to a thick batter that coats the back of a spoon and falls in a slow ribbon. It should not be runny. Rest it for 5 minutes.
5. Add the marinated chicken, with any liquid left in the bowl, to the batter. Fold gently until each piece is evenly coated. If the batter is too stiff, add a spoonful of water.
6. Heat the oil in a karahi over medium heat to about 170°C. To test without a thermometer, drop in a small bit of batter: it should sink briefly, then rise and sizzle steadily.
7. Lower in 8 to 10 coated pieces one at a time, keeping them apart. Fry over medium heat, turning now and then, until deep golden and crisp, about 6 to 7 minutes.
8. Check one piece by cutting it open: the chicken should be white all the way through with no pink, or read 74°C in the centre. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
9. Fry the remaining chicken in a second batch, letting the oil come back to temperature first. For extra crunch, return all the pakoras to the hot oil for 1 minute at the end.
10. Sprinkle with chaat masala while still hot and serve straight away with chutney and lemon wedges.

Tips

• Use thigh meat if you can. It stays juicy in hot oil, while breast meat dries out easily.
• Keep the oil at a steady medium heat. If it is too hot the batter browns before the chicken cooks; too cool and the pakoras turn greasy.
• Rice flour in the batter gives a lighter, crunchier crust than gram flour alone.
• Do not crowd the pan, as this lowers the oil temperature and makes the coating soft.