BENGALURU:A few years ago, cooking was not part of my life. I always thought I would learn when the time would come – but boy, was I mistaken!
After choosing to become a doctor, hostel days in Tumakuru would mostly be food from the hostel canteen or the small eateries that had just started becoming popular in 2009.Two of my friends and me had rented our own place in Thrissur, it was a comfortable house with three bedrooms and a kitchen. The person who helped us rent the place also introduced us to a home chef, who would provide all three meals of the day for a cost of`3,500. Given our busy lives, we signed up with her offer and were set with our meals.
Few months passed, we had a friend visit us over a weekend. We ordered in for food from the home chef, something that we had gotten used to by then. However, we also decided to cook a non-veg starter at home and our friend also decided to help. Little did we know that we were about to embark on a journey to cook a simple yet delicious chicken fry.
While we knew what we were going to make, we also knew that we didn’t have a many ingredients in hand. All we had with us was: Small pieces of chicken, ginger and garlic paste, chilli powder, curd, and salt to taste. Our first reaction was, how can something good come out of this? Thirty minutes later we had a chicken fry that I fell in love with.
Nine years on, I am married today, and am working as a full-time doctor. I learnt to cook dishes, that are simple and exotic. But one of my all-time favourites has always been this chicken fry. It works well with Indian breads and the best way to have it, is to wrap it with rumali roti, add tomatoes, onions, chilli and lime. Different variations of the chicken fry are a hit among my friends and guests, you can try them with kubuz and mayo as well.
Quick recipe:
Ingredients:
Chicken 500 gms (Small pieces of boneless chicken)
Curd 250 ml
Salt to taste
Ginger & garlic paste, 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tbsp
Red chili powder 3 tbsp
Half a lemon
Preparation method:
Wash and drain the chicken
Add all ingredients to the chicken and mix well
Marinate for 1 hour
Heat oil in a Kadai, till oil is hot
Carefully drop the chicken one by one into the Kadai
Fry well till the chicken is fully cooked
Take the chicken out and place it on a try lined with kitchen roll to drain the excess oil
Serve the chicken hot with onions, cucumber and lemon