Chicken 65 - Dry Spiced Popcorn Chicken

Chicken 65

India's take on a delicious and juicy popcorn chicken. Spiced with a blend of chili powders, curry leaf and fresh pepper, this heat is not for the faint of heart. Perfect to make and fry in large quantities, which you'll want to do since it's sure to be a crowd favorite.  

Ingredients

• 3 large chicken breasts (approximately 2 lbs)
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp crushed ginger
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp Mumbai Spice Company chili powder
• 2 tsp Mumbai Spice Company coriander powder
• ½ tsp Mumbai Spice Company turmeric
• ⅛ tsp curry leaf powder (or freshly minced curry leaves)
• 1 lemon (½ to marinate chicken, ½ to squeeze after chicken is fried)
• salt to taste
• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 ½ tsp Mumbai Spice Company cumin seed - crushed
• 10 large curry leaves
• 1-2  green chilis
• rice bran oil or other oil with high smoke point

Instructions

1. Wash the chicken breasts and then cut into small cubes, making sure to cut across the grain.
2. Next, add the crushed garlic and ginger and sprinkle in all the spices. Then squeeze the juice from half of a lemon and stir everything together until evenly coated.
3. Place in the refrigerator to marinate at least 1 hour.
4. When ready to cook, remove the chicken and add salt and 1 egg white, stirring to combine. Then sift in 1 tbsp of cornstarch, stirring again. Let sit out for 20 minutes or so before frying.
5. Heat the oil in a small deep pan for frying. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, drop one piece of chicken in to check if oil has reached the correct temperature. If it has, fry one batch at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. 
6. Remove the fried pieces to a paper towel covered plate. Once all the chicken is cooked. Heat a flat frying pan over medium-low heat, add a little oil and once hot, sprinkle in the crushed cumin, chopped green chilies, and minced curry leaves.
7. Place the fried chicken cubes in the pan and toss with the cumin, chili, and curry leaves. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Finally, squeeze the other half of the lemon over the chicken before serving.

 

 

 

 

Veda Sankaran 

Recipe Developer - Owner Jalsa By Veda

Veda is an Indian American mom, wife, teacher, and business woman living in Pittsburgh. Her professional background is in education, but she developed a love of food after 20+ years of cooking for her family. She cooks traditional Indian food, and her strength lies in creativity. She can take spices and flavors of Indian cuisine and use them to create new and unique recipes. Through constant recipe development and creating menus for local pop up dinners in Pittsburgh, she gives reigns to her creativity to use food as a medium for exploring the many facets of identity.

Find her on instagram @jalsabyveda