Friday 1 January 2010

Chilly Chicken

ven though Chilly Chicken is not an authentic Cochin dish, it is one of the highly rated favourites. My hubby is a die hard fan of it. And whenever i have this dish, i think of my close friend Niranjana, who used to bring awesome home cooked chilly chicken, when she returned back to the hostel after breaks. And she is the one who taught me to make this dish after my endless unrewarding attempts. So here it goes...



You will need...

Boneless skinless chicken - 500gm(diced into small cubes)
Spring onions chopped (greens and whites seperated) - 4 sticks
Big onion - 1 (Chopped into meduim sized squares)
Green bell pepper - 1( Chopped into meduim sized squares)
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies chopped - 5( can adjust according to your spice level)
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1tsp
Garlic finely chopped - 1/2 pod
Ginger finely chopped - 1 inch
Celery stick - 1 finely chopped(optional)
Ajinomotto - a pinch
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Vinegar - 1tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomatto sauce- 1-2 tbsp
Sesame oil - 2-3 tbsp
Sunflower oil - as needed for frying
Chilli flakes - 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt - to taste

For marinade...
Eggs - 1
Cornflour - 25gm
Plain flour - 75gm
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ajinomotto - a pinch
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - 2 taste

Mix all these ingredients to make a thick smooth paste. Can add water if needed.
Note:- You can adjust the thickness according to your taste. Some people prefer the chicken pieces coated in a thick batter while others prefer it thin.

Step 1
Cook chicken pieces with little water, 1tbsp soya sauce, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp ginger garlic paste until the pieces are well cooked. Drain the chicken pieces out and restore the stock.

Step 2
Heat sunflower oil in a thick bottomed vessel. Dip the chicken pieces in the marinade and deep fry. Since the chicken pieces are already cooked this will take very less time since v need to get only the marinade cooked. Drain it into a vessel lined with kitchen tissue.
Note:-If u have left over batter mix it with the stock. If not add a tbsp of cornflour to the stock and mix well.

Step 3
In a non stick/thick bottomed vessel heat sesame oil(in full heat). Add chopped ginger, garlic and spring onion whites. Fry for two minutes. Now add chopped onions. Stir fry until the onions turn translucent. Add bell peppers and celery. When the bell peppers are half cooked, turn heat to low and add chilli powder, green chillies, soya sauce, tomatto sauce and ajinomotto. Stir well. Now add the chicken stock. Stir well and check the salt. Add if needed. Turn heat again to high, let it boil and now you can see that it turns into a thick glacy gravy. At this point you can adjust the consistancy of ur gravy by ading more water if you prefer to have it a bit runny. Add the fried chicken pieces into it. Simmer in meduim flame for 2-3 mins. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens. Serve hot with chowmein or fried rice. I like it even with chappathis or nans.

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