‘And believe me, a good piece of chicken can make anybody  believe in the existence of God.’  –Sherman Alexie

I love buying chicken –you can do so much with it. Grill, bake, fry, curry, stock for soup- plenty of options!

Recently I have been trying out a few improvisations during grilling on a tava to keep the chicken as moist as possible –sprinkling curd as well as water during the cooking process. Well, I have been receiving good reviews from my kids -they are the best critics after all. Seems to be working…

This particular panfry chicken was so good –it was wiped clean in no time. The flavor of ghee just lifted the dish to a whole new level. I was pleasantly surprised. Since I am from Kerala substituting coconut oil for ghee did not make sense to me as we are all too familiar with the flavor of coconut oil- it practically goes into every authentic, traditional malayalee dish –vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian. The sprinkling of curd during the cooking process helps in retaining the moisture and makes sure the chicken does not dry out.

I hope you will like this recipe- it’s simple and the end result – very, very tasty. Do try it out and let me know.

Ingredients:

Chicken- 1-1.2kg

For the marinade:

• Ginger-garlic paste -2tbsp
• Kashmiri Chilly powder -1tbsp
• Coriander powder-1tbsp
• Cummin powder-1tsp
• Pepper powder-1tbsp
• Garam masala powder-1tbsp
• Salt to taste

To fry:

• Onions sliced-4
• Chicken masala powder- 2tbsp
• Curd -2tbsp
• Tomato puree-1tbsp
• Salt
• Sugar –a big pinch
• Curry leaves
• Green chillies slit-4-6
• Oil and ghee -2tbsp each

Method:

• Wash and clean chicken thoroughly. Pat dry thoroughly.
• Marinate chicken for 2-3 hours or overnight.
• In a pan, heat oil and fry sliced onions till golden brown.
• Add chicken masala powder and fry well.
• Add the marinated chicken and mix thoroughly.
• Cover and cook for 5 minutes on a medium flame.
• To the chicken, add 1 tbsp of curd and tomato puree, mix thoroughly, cover and cook for 5 minutes more on medium flame.
• To the chicken, add another tablespoon of curd and curry leaves, mix well and cook chicken till tender, soft and moist. (not dry)
• Add 2 tablespoons of ghee, a big pinch of sugar, slit green chillies and serve hot with roti of your choice.

Chefs tips:

• Pat dry the chicken pieces thoroughly before starting the dish.
• Take all the powders with the ginger –garlic paste, mix thoroughly and then apply on the chicken pieces.
• Marinating the chicken overnight will result in a softer and a chicken roast full of flavor.
• Adding a tablespoon of curd during cooking, in fact twice – helps in keeping the dish moist – there is no need to add water.
• I used Eastern chicken masala powder.
• You can substitute coconut oil for ghee.
• It’s hot, it’s spicy and it’s delicious.
• There are no leftovers –that’s for sure!

Happy cooking and Bon appétit!

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose