Chicken Fry - Kerala Style - Mom's recipe and the best

• Gluten free

• Meat

  • 1 Chicken

• Produce

  • 2 chopped handful Cilantro
  • 1 1/2 powder tsp Coriander
  • 2 1/2 powder tsp Fennel
  • 4 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Ginger
  • 3 Green chili
  • 1 Onion or shallots- 6, Small small

• Condiments

  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice

• Baking & Spices

  • 3 Cardamom, Whole
  • 1 Chili powder
  • 1 Cinnamon 2 inch, Whole slice
  • 2 Cloves, whole
  • 1 Salt
  • 1/4 powder tsp Turmeric

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1 Oil- enough

• Frozen

  • 2 leaves sprig Curry
  • 1 Curry

• Liquids

  • 1 Water- just enough to make

Found on thasneen.com

Description

Ingredients

• Chicken, bone-in and skin removed- 5 leg-thigh piece or use 8 to 10 chicken legs
• Oil- enough for deep frying
• Curry leaves- 2 sprig, to add to the oil while frying
• Small onion or shallots- 6-small ones or 3- large shallots
• Garlic cloves- 4, large
• Ginger, chopped- 3 inch slice
• Green chili- 3
• Whole cardamom- 3
• Whole cloves- 2
• Whole cinnamon- 2 inch slice
• Chili powder- 1½ tsp ( if you prefer less spicy use Kashmiri red chili powder, gives an intense red color)
• Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
• Fennel powder- 2½ tsp
• Coriander powder- 1½ tsp
• Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
• Cilantro, chopped- 2 handful
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig (optional)
• Salt- to taste
• Water- just enough to make a smooth and thick marinade

Directions

• In a blender, add all the above mentioned ingredients to make the marinade with just enough water to make a smooth and thick sauce.
• Dont add too much water, so begin with little water and add accordingly.
• Pour the marinade into a bowl.
• Bone-in chicken pieces are good for frying, especially chicken legs.
• So use bone-in chicken legs or leg-thigh combined pieces or other parts and I prefer skinned pieces.
• Using a sharp knife, put a couple of gashes or shallow lines over each chicken piece.
• Spread the marinade over the chicken pieces evenly.
• Cover the bowl with the chicken using a plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
• When its marinated overnight, all the flavors will get into the chicken and the fry will taste much much delicious.
• If you dont have enough time you could marinate for a couple of hours or so, make sure to marinate in the refrigerator for at least sometime.
• Next morning, take the chicken out of the refrigerator, keep it on the counter top for 15 minutes or so.
• Heat enough oil for deep frying in a frying pan.
• Its very hard for me to say if the marinade is salty enough, if the salt added is less, the fried chicken will taste blant. So here is a trick that I do, first cut a small piece may be a hanging part out of the chicken and fry that. Taste it and adjust the amount of salt and chili powder accordingly. If needed more, sprinkle over the marinated chicken pieces and combine well before frying them.
• Place the chicken pieces in the oil without crowding them.
• Add the curry leaves into the oil as well, curry leaves will really enhance the taste of the fried chicken. I just love adding curry leaves but its just optional.
• Fry the chicken over medium heat till both sides have turned golden brown in color. Transfer to a kitchen paper towel and let it absorb all the excess oil.
• Before frying the next batch, make sure to remove any fried particles or small fried slices thats left in the oil using a slotted spoon. Otherwise, those particles will make the next batch of chicken burn very fast.
• Serve the chicken fry on a platter and garnish with cut onions, tomatoes, cilantro and lemon wedges.
• While having this chicken fry, squeeze some lemon juice over it and enjoy.