IFC

Fried chickens abound beyound the Kentucky variety. So far we have had KFC which was Korean fried chicken and our friend Chef Kato at Sumi in chicago makes the most delicious karaage. We got this idea somewhat from him to make an Indian version with green chili thecha (ground paste). There can be multitude of options here but we chose the green chili ground into a rough paste in a mortar as the simplest of accompaniments. A little goes a long way. In india it is not common to use the skin so we used boneless skinless chicken thighs.

Brine and Seasoning

We opted to brine our chicken to make it flavorful and juicy. We added some slices of lime and ginger alongwith some crushed garlic, mint leaves, cloves and peppercorns. We brined the chiken in the refrigerator in this saltwater solution overnight.

For the seasoning we used white pepper powder and dried ginger powder called as soonth in hindi. We mixed this seasoning with equal portions of potato flour and all purpose flour. We believe potato flour produces a lighter but cruspy coating. We first dry the chicken out of the brine and then toss it in a zip lock bag with the flour. We then removed it and shook off the excess flour. When frying it is important to make sure the oil is hot enough before adding chicken but not too hot that it burns the chicken immediately. Its best to fry on medium heat slowly and turning sides. It can take 10 to 20 minutes to cook.

When fried properly lay out on a dish lined with paper towels and season with salt. Crush chopped green chilies in a mortar and pestle and serve a dollop on the side alongwith lime wedges.