Indian-style fried chicken
Dan Toombs aka The Curry Guy has bundled his hundred easiest Indian dishes into one book. No compromises are made on flavour, while preparation time is kept to a minimum. From chicken 65 to bhaja mackere and chicken curry with fenugreek. Can you smell the Indian cuisine already?
Dan: “I’m often asked why this dish is called ‘chicken 65’. There are two plausible explanations. One is that the original recipe consisted of 65 different ingredients. The other explanation is more likely: in India, where menus can be very long, this popular dish increasingly appeared as the sixty-fifth option on the menu, meaning that in a restaurant you could simply order ‘number 65’ without having to look at the menu.”
Method
1. Cut the chicken breast into small pieces (tikka). Mix all the batter ingredients into a paste and rub it into the chicken. Leave to marinate, covered, in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight if you have time, but this isn’t essential.
2. Just before frying, heat a layer of rapeseed oil at least 10 cm deep in a large wok until a piece of chicken immediately starts to sizzle in the oil. You can also use a deep-frying thermometer; it should read 190 °C.
3. Fry the pieces of chicken breast in batches until the chicken is deliciously crispy and almost cooked through. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Drain the fried chicken on a rack while you fry the rest. You can do the frying in advance. Keep the fried chicken covered in the fridge until needed.
4. Let the oil cool slightly and discard all but about 3 tablespoons. Place the wok over high heat and stir the mustard seeds into the remaining oil. Lower the heat as soon as the seeds start to pop. Add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies and fry for about 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic-ginger paste and fry for about 1 minute, until everything is fragrant and soft.
5. Add the chicken and spring onion and stir well to combine. Fry over high heat until the chicken is completely cooked through. Drizzle with the lemon juice and add the chilli sauce if desired. Stir everything well once more, season with salt if necessary and serve.
Title: The Curry Guy Easy
Author: Dan Toombs
Publisher: Good Cook
Price: €20,95
