← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 600 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 tbsp thick plain yogurt
• 2 cm piece Ginger, finely grated
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• ½ tsp hot red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground
• ¼ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 sprig Curry leaves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 2 tbsp Rice flour
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds (optional)
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 3 Green chilli, slit lengthways
• 2 sprigs Curry leaves
• ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 Lemon, cut into wedges

Method

1. Mix the chicken with all the marinade ingredients until well coated. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
2. Sprinkle the cornflour and rice flour over the chicken and toss until each piece has a thin, tacky coating. Add a teaspoon of water if it looks dry.
3. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C (350°F). Fry the chicken in batches for 5–6 min, until deep red-gold, crisp and cooked through to 75°C (165°F). Drain on kitchen paper.
4. In a wok or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves and fry for 30–40 seconds, until the leaves crackle.
5. Toss in the fried chicken and the chilli powder and stir for 1 minute to coat. Serve hot with lemon wedges and sliced onion.

Tips

• Keep the oil hot and don’t crowd the pan, or the coating turns greasy instead of crisp.
• The famous red colour comes from Kashmiri chilli; restaurants often add food colouring, which you don’t need.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Tea for Turmeric BBC Good Food Archana's Kitchen Ranveer Brar