Disclaimer. This dish is deep fried and this means 1) it’s not your healthiest bet and 2) you’ll end up having to throw away the leftover oil. Having said that, this crispy fried chicken is delicious as an appetizer, or for a regular meal with rice and dal and the best still, as a munchie while you are sipping on a cold beer.

Things you will need:

• Boneless chicken breasts- 2 (cut into small bite sized pieces)
• Oil for deep frying- about 400 ml (I use rapeseed oil for frying)
• Curry leaves- 2-3 sprigs. Be lavish as the curry leaves give the base flavour for this dish.

For marination:

• Kashmiri red chilli powder- 2 tablespoons (If you prefer it hotter, use 1 tablespoon of regular red chilli powder and 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri. The Kashmiri chilli powder is what gives this recipe its colour as I am against using artificial food colouring.)
• Ginger garlic paste- 2 teaspoons (make a paste with a 1 inch stick of ginger and 5-6 small cloves of garlic)
• Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
• Black pepper powder- 1.5 teaspoon
• Lime juice- 1 tablespoon
• Egg- 1
• Salt- to taste
• Corn flour- 2 tablespoons
• Regular all purpose flour- 1 tablespoons

How to go about it:

1. In a bowl, make a marinade using all the ingredients listed under ‘for marination.’ Rub the mixture on the chicken pieces. Mix very well, preferably with your hands, and allow this marinated chicken to rest in fridge for about 30 minutes to one hour.
2. When ready to fry the chicken, place a heavy wok on medium heat and heat the oil. Once the oil is hot, add some curry leaves and wait for 10 seconds. Place the marinated chicken bits in the hot oil, making sure you don’t over crowd the wok, and deep fry with the wok uncovered, until the outer covering is nice and crispy.
3. Fry in batches with enough curry leaves every time. And serve hot with sliced red onions, a dash of lime juice and a frosty beer on the side.

This recipe is reminiscent of all the meals I’ve had from the roadside shacks of my hometown. The thattukadas. This is not your best bet if you’re looking for a healthy recipe as we use lavish amounts of oil here. The key to perfecting this recipe lies in the way you adjust the heat throughout the process.

Things you will need:

• Chicken on the bone, cut into medium to small pieces- 500 grams (make a few lines on the pieces with a sharp knife.)
• Kashmiri red chilli powder- 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon
• Lime juice- 1 teaspoon
• Coconut oil for best results. Regular cooking oil like rapeseed oil etc works too. You need to be a little lavish with the oil for this recipe.
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

To grind

(for this recipe, it’s important to keep this paste coarse. Don’t grind it all together to make a smooth paste as this will affect the end product. The brazen flavours and little bites of ginger and garlic give this recipe its soul. It’s the imperfections that make this dish perfect.)

• Dried red chillies, the big variety. Not bird’s eye chillies)- 12-15 (bump it up if you like it hotter) You can substitute this with ready made chilli flakes. Use 1.5-2 tablespoons BUT do not grind it. Add in after you make the coarse paste out of the rest of the ingredients given below.
• Shallots- 6-7 (if you don’t have shallots, use half of a medium sized red onion.)
• Ginger- 1 inch stick
• Garlic- 8-10 cloves if you’re using the regular variety. 4-5 cloves if using the large variety.
• Fennel seeds- 1.5 tsp
• Whole black peppercorns- 1.5- 2 teaspoons

How to go about it:

1. First, rub the clean and lined pieces of chicken with the Kashmiri red chilli powder, turmeric, lime juice and salt to taste. Keep in the fridge while you do the rest.
2. Next, make a COARSE paste out of the ingredients listed under “to grind.” DO NOT add the chilli flakes if that is what you’re using. Instead, make the paste out of the rest of the ingredients and just mix in the chilli flakes after.
3. Add this marinade to the chicken kept aside. Mix it all up well with your hand for best results. Check the salt again. Add more if needed. Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for an hour.
4. When ready to fry the chicken, heat a little more than quarter cup coconut oil in a wok or deep pan. Medium to high heat. Add the curry leaves. Wait for about 20 seconds for the flavour to infuse into the oil.
5. Next, place the chicken pieces along with the marinade coating the pieces in the hot oil. Don’t over crowd the wok. You can always fry the whole thing in two or more batches. Reduce the heat to a low and cover the wok. Allow the chicken to cook for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked checking once or twice in between and moving the pieces around to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
6. Once the chicken is almost cooked and the meat begins to fall off the bone, increase the heat and fry it all up well. Add more oil at this point if needed. Fry the chicken till the chicken is completely cooked and the masala is a deep brown. Don’t wait until it’s completely black. It tastes best when it’s at a point right before it turns black. Again, a couple of attempts will help you perfect this 🙂 Get the chicken pieces out along with the fried masala and place it all in a dish lined with paper napkins.
7. Serve hot with chapati or dosas or ghee rice with crisp slices of red onions. Make sure you help yourself to the fried masala and curry leaf bits. It’s the absolute best!

This recipe is a modified version of one of the first recipes I ever made. It’s simple and uses only a few readily available ingredients. Step up on the heat if you like, with more pepper or chilli powder. Not much can go wrong in this recipe.

Things you will need:

• Prawns- 500 grams (cleaned and deveined with the tails left on if possible. Great flavour)
• Red onion- 1 large or 2 medium sized, sliced finely
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
• Coconut oil
• Salt

For the marinade

• Shallots- 5-6 (if you don’t have shallots, use half of a small red onion instead)
• Whole black pepper- 1.5 teaspoon
• Kashmiri red chili powder (or regular chilli powder)- 1 tablespoon
• Coriander powder- 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon
• Ginger- 1 inch stick
• Garlic- 2 large cloves (if using the regular variety, use about 5-6 cloves)

How to go about it:

1. First step is to make the marinade. Grind the shallots (or half the small red onion) along with the whole black pepper. You don’t need to make it a 100% smooth. A slightly coarse paste will work. Keep aside. Then grind the ginger and garlic together. Add the ginger garlic paste to the onion pepper paste along with the chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Add a dash of water and mix it all up well. Marinate the cleaned prawns in this marinade. Set aside.
2. Next, heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the pan or wok you want to use. Medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the curry leaves. Fry for about seconds. Add the sliced red onions. Saute the onions very well until they are brown. Adding a bit of salt speeds up the process. This sweetness of the beautifully cooked onions is the base of the dish. Don’t try to cut corners here.
3. Once the onions are nice and brown, add the marinated prawns. Toss around until the brown onions and the marinated prawns mix well and also to make sure the onion, ginger and garlic in the marinade is cooked. Add a few teaspoons of oil if it begins to stick to the bottom of the pan. Ginger and garlic have the tendency to stick so add more oil and scrape the bottom once with the spatula.
4. Keep the pan closed for 3-4 minutes or until the prawns release the water content and cook well. Check salt once again.
5. Then leave the pan open and fry up the mixture well on a high heat until it’s almost dry. It is important not to overcook the prawns for best results. So, try to make sure the prawns stay in the pan for not more than 10-12 minutes altogether. It gets better with practice 🙂

This recipe is chicken on the bone cooked in a rich and semi dry onion and tomato base. Simple, fuss free and one of the easiest chicken roasts you can lay your hands on. Step up on the chilli powder and black pepper if you want the dish nice and spicy.

Things you will need:

• Chicken on the bone (cut into medium sized pieces)- 1 kg
• Onions- 2 large, sliced finely
• Tomatoes- 2 large, chopped
• Green chillies- 3-4 slit
• Lime juice- 2 teaspoons
• Ginger- 1 inch stick, julienned
• Garlic- 4-5 cloves, minced
• Kashmiri red chili powder- 2 tablespoons (use a mixture of regular chilli with Kashmiri if you like it hotter)
• Coriander powder- 1 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon + ½ teaspoon for marination
• Ground black pepper- 1 teaspoon (step it up if you like it hotter)
• Coconut oil
• Salt to taste
• Ghee (optional)
• Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
• Coriander for garnish (optional)

How to go about it:

1. Marinate the chicken with the lime juice, a bit of salt and half teaspoon turmeric powder. Keep aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can avoid this step if you’re pressed for time.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan or wok. Once the oil is hot, add the sliced onions and saute until they are nice and brown. Adding salt to the onions now helps speed up the browning process. The colour of the dish depends partly on this step so, saute the onions very well.
3. Once the onions are nice and brown, add the ginger, garlic and green chillies. Toss it all around for about 30 seconds.
4. Next, add the tomatoes. Saute for a minute and then keep the wok closed for about a minute or two to allow the tomatoes to soften up.
5. Once the tomatoes are mushy, add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder and black pepper powder. Add more salt if needed. Saute the mixture until the spices are cooked very well, the mixture darkens in colour and the oil starts to leave the sides. Frying your spices well in oil is the key to getting a deep coloured dish so, be patient and fry your spices well.
6. Once that is done and the mixture looks homogeneous, in goes the chicken (marinated or not) along with the curry leaves. Toss the pieces around until all the pieces are evenly coated with the masala. Keep frying the chicken until the raw pink is lost and pieces begin to turn white.
7. Keep the wok closed (medium to low heat) and allow the chicken to cook completely. You do not need to add any water to this recipe as the chicken will release water. Make sure you check every once in a while to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add the dash of lime juice right now if you haven’t marinated the chicken.
8. Once the chicken is cooked well and the meat begins to fall off the bone, and the gravy looks nice and thick, add a tablespoon of ghee (if using), otherwise add a bit more coconut oil and fry up the pieces along with the thick gravy well on a medium-high heat for another 2-3 minutes (maybe longer, depending on the water the chicken has released. Keep frying till you achieve a nice, semi dry masala) This process will further darken the masala and perfect a semi dry chicken roast. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves (optional)
9. Serve hot.

This one is a favourite and it translates to chicken in chilli. It’s easy, spicy, hearty and it is all things Kerala. Chicken cooked with lots of chili, ginger and garlic with that beautiful hint of fenugreek and cardamom right at the back.

Things you will need:

• Chicken on the bone, without skin, cut into medium sized pieces, washed well and patted dry- 1 kg
• Onions- 2 medium sized chopped finely
• Tomato- 2 medium sized chopped
• Green chilies- 3-4 slit
• Green cardamom pods- 4
• Black mustard seeds- ½ tsp
• Fenugreek seeds- ¼ tsp (this is the base flavour of this curry. But do not add too much. Fenugreek when added in excess can make the dish bitter)
• Kashmiri red chili powder- 3 tablespoons (mix it up with regular chilli powder if you like your food hotter)
• Turmeric- ½ tsp
• Ginger- 1 inch stick chopped finely
• Garlic- 6-8 cloves chopped. Be generous with the garlic (if its the large variety, 2-3 cloves will do)
• Cooking oil (I recommend coconut oil for this curry)
• Curry leaves- 1 sprig

How to go about it

1. In a wok kept on medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Let them splutter. Next add the green cardamom. Toss around for about 15 seconds till the flavour releases into the oil. Add the curry leaves.
2. Add the chopped onions next and saute until they turn golden brown. Onions must be cooked well. Next, add the green chilies, ginger and garlic. Saute for another 30 seconds.
3. Next, add the chopped tomatoes, saute for a minute and then leave the wok closed for a couple of minutes to get the tomatoes to soften up.
4. Add the salt (to taste), chili powder and turmeric. Saute well (still on medium heat), until the mixture begins to look homogeneous, the spiced are cooked and looks darker and the oil starts to leave the sides of the mixture.
5. Now, add the chicken pieces. Toss the pieces around until the chicken changes colour from pink to white. Make sure the masala is coated on all the pieces evenly.
6. Add about 3/4 cup of water (remember the chicken will release water too), mix it all up and bring the curry to a boil. Then reduce the heat and allow the chicken to cook thoroughly with the wok closed. Check every once in a while to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the wok.
7. Once the chicken is cooked and the meat begins to fall off the bone and the gravy thickens up with the oil floating on top, the curry is done. For best results, keep the curry aside for 15- 20 minutes for the flavours to balance out before serving.

I tasted this dish for the first time in Oh! Calcutta, Pune and I remember I fell in love with the flavour notes instantly. The coriander seeds, the fried onions, the onion paste and the chilli together weaved magic on my palate and I knew I had to recreate it at home. It took me a few attempts to get it right I must confess and now, this is my go-to recipe and I must say it’s one of my favourite meals ever. I am still not sure if this is the “right” way to do it yada yada as I was merely looking to recreate what I tasted at the restaurant. But who cares because this chicken curry is DELICIOUS.

Things you will need:

• Chicken on the bone- 1 kg
• Red onions (medium sized) – 2 sliced finely
• Red onion (medium sized)- 1 made into a coarse paste.
• Garlic- if large, 4 cloves. If the regular Indian variety, 8-9 cloves. Crushed.
• Kashmiri red chili powder- 1.5 tablespoon
• Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon
• Green chillies- 4-5 chopped
• Cashews- 10 (soaked in ¼ cup hot water)
• Oil
• Salt to taste
• Coriander seeds- 1 tsp (to temper)
• Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

For the spice mix:

• Coriander seeds- 2 heaped tablespoons
• Dried red chilies- 6-7

How to go about it:

1. First, in a small pan, dry roast the ingredients given under “for the spice mix.” The coriander seeds and the dried chillies must be lightly roasted on a low to medium flame until they release a lovely, toasty aroma. Do not allow the spices to burn. Keep aside to cool before grinding it into a coarse powder. “Spice Mix”
2. Marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp of the Spice Mix, a bit of salt and let it it rest for about half an hour.
3. In the meantime, make a smooth paste out of the cashews and water and keep aside.
4. Next, heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a wok and add 1 tsp of the coriander seeds. Once the flavour releases into the oil (takes about 5-6 seconds if the oil is hot in enough and it’ll start crackling), add the sliced onions. The onions must be made nice and brown. The trick to get crisp and brown onions every time is to make sure you don’t keep sauteing them throughout. Add the onions to the hot oil, add a bit of salt, saute till all the pieces are coated with the oil and they begin to wilt on a medium heat. After that saute only in intervals. Once the onions are translucent, you can fry it all up on a slightly higher heat. Either way, it is important to get the onions nice and brown for this recipe or it will taste odd in the end.
5. Once the sliced onions are brown, add the onion paste and keep sauteing. Heat on medium. Keep sauteing until the entire mixture is golden brown in colour. This will happen faster than the onion slices.
6. Next, add the garlic, sauté for about 30 seconds and then add the rest of the Spice Mix, salt as needed, the Kashmiri Red Chili powder and turmeric powder and keep sauteing for another minute. This will cook the spices well and will give the curry a luxuriant red colour in the end.
7. Next, add the marinated chicken bits. Toss them around to make sure all the pieces are coated with the spices evenly. Keep at it till the chicken loses its pink and the masala is sealed in the pieces.
8. At this point, add one cup water, give the curry a good mix and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, keep the wok closed and let the chicken cook throughly. Should ideally take about 25 minutes approx. Check every once in a while to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
9. Once the chicken is cooked and the meat begins to fall of the bone, add the green chilies and cashew paste and give it a mix. Add more salt if needed. Let the curry boil until it reaches the desired consistency which is a slightly thick red gravy. Once done, top with fresh coriander leaves.
10. Serve hot with jeera rice or plain rice and raita. Or even hot luchis if you’re feeling fancy.