Outside my college in Thiruvananthapuram, there was a street vendor who would sell delicious Poricha Kozhi (chicken fry). I can still remember the aroma of the chicken wafting into the classrooms, tempting us students no end as we attended lectures or took our exams. Not surprisingly, Poricha Kozhi with chapathi was a popular after-college snack for us.
Our KCK Chicken Fry inevitably reminds me of those days. Inspired by the street food of Southern Kerala, its predominant flavours are crushed garlic and fennel. Cook it in coconut oil to get that special flavour and eat it with chapatis or as is.
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Serves
2
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Cook Time
01 h 00 m
Plus 3-4 hours to marinate
Ingredients
- 1/2 chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp rice flour
- 1 tsp Guntur chilli powder
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp pepper powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cups coconut oil
- 10 garlic cloves, crushed with skin
- Juice of 1 lemon
For Garam Masala
- 5 cloves
- 5 cardamoms
- 1 1-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp fennel
Preparation
- Marinate chicken with lemon juice, salt, turmeric powder and ginger-garlic paste. Rest for 1 hour.
- Roast and powder the ingredients for garam masala.
- To the marinating chicken, add Guntur chilli powder, Kashmir chilli powder, garam masala, pepper powder and let it rest for another 2 hours.
- When you are ready to fry the chicken, heat coconut oil in a deep pan or kadai. In the meantime, add crushed garlic and fennel to the marinated chicken and mix well.
- Fry the chicken pieces on medium-high heat until done. This should take 8-10 minutes.
- Take the chicken out and drain on an absorbent towel. Chicken fry is ready to be served.
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