Chicken Fry- the Lazy Chef’s Pride!

Birthdays come with pangs of all kinds. Apart from the most common (and the most unbearable) pang of getting older, there are pangs of guilt, pangs of achievement, pangs of honesty (followed closely by pangs of regrets) and pangs of being productive. It is in one of these pangs (no, not of hunger. Of selflessness!), that I decided to write this post and share the recipe of my Chicken Fry.

Since it is MY chicken-fry, you can be sure of at least 3 things.

1. That it is mockingly easy.
2. That it is adorably spicy.
3. That it is not even remotely healthy! (unless you decide to skip the chief taste-maker: Coconut Oil!)

Don’t get me wrong. It DOES taste amazing- as told by around 50 odd people who’s had it from me. I have had my senior aunts in the family secretly telephone me for the recipe, and exclaiming “Neenu, I never thought this day will come when I call YOU up for recipes!!”. Yes, this dish has earned me acclaims of ALL kinds! And the dirty secret is that it is unbelievably easy. (Surprise- yawn!)

What you need:

a) 1 Kg Chicken pieces, cut, cleaned, washed & drained.

b) A large non-stick casserole that you can make the chicken fry in.

c) Coconut Oil- 6-7 tbsp

d) Marinade:

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Kashmiri Chilli powder- 1 tbsp

Pepper powder- 1 tbsp

Fennel seeds crushed to powder- 1 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Salt- 1 tsp

Chicken stock- 1 cube

Lemon- 1 squeezed

Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tbsp

Soy sauce- 1 tsp

Shallots- 6-8 numbers, crushed. (Lightly. NOT to a paste)

The complicated process starts….

Step 1: Put all the ingredients in the marinade section, into the non-stick casserole. Mix well with your fingers.

Step 2: Once mixed, apply it all over the chicken pieces.

Step 3: Put this casserole directly onto the flame, either immediately or whenever you feel up to it (in case you are tired from the ‘hard work’ of all the mixing)! Doesn’t matter. Let the chicken dry heat for a couple of minutes. Then, pour 4 tbsp coconut oil on top of the chicken, mix with a non-stick spoon.

Step 4: Let it fry on its own in the oil. After 5 minutes, pour another 2 tbsp oil, mix and let it fry all over.

Once you get the chicken into a deliciously brown color, you know for a fact that you have nailed every lazy-Chef’s dream- a Spicy Chicken fry without breaking a sweat!

So, for my darling mom who passed her recipe on to me, and for my incredible talent of breaking it down so darn simply, this blogpost is my good-deed on my birthday. The result of a pang of selflessness, so that you, like my aunts, can make this childishly simple chicken fry, feed it your guests and exclaim, “Oh, this is nothing!”, actually meaning it for a change!!