Chilli Chicken

Preparation

• 

- Clean and wipe dry the chicken
- Cut the chicken pieces about 1 inch in size
- Cut capsicum in square or triangle shape
- Dice the onion in 4 piece and cut them in petal shape
- Fine chop ginger and garlic
- Make separate ginger garlic paste

Marination

• 
• 

- Take the chicken pieces in a bowl
- Add 2 tsp salt (or as per your taste)
- Add 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
- Add 1 tsp sugar
- Add 1/2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
- Add 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- Add 1 tbsp of Sesame oil
[Mix everything very well]

- Add 1/2 tbsp of soya sauce
- Add 1/2 tbsp of vinegar
- Add 150 ml lukewarm water
[Mix everything very well and season the chicken for 15 minutes. The juice will enter the chicken very well in this seasoning. And the bater will also become good]

- After 15 minutes, add egg to the bater and mix very well
[The egg prevent the juice from leaving the chicken]

- Add the corn flour and mix it well
- Now, add the flour and again mix it thoroughly.
[This makes a very good coating over chicken. Keep the chicken on marination again for another 15 minutes]

Frying Chicken

• 
• 
• 

The chickens to be fried in 2 steps, first cook about 70% on medium flame and in second step fry them on high flame.
- Heat pan on medium flame
- Pour 500 ml sesame oil and heat it up.
[In case sesame is not present, use any vegetable oil]

- Add the marinated chicken to the heated oil
- Fry the chicken about 70%
- Strain out the chicken
- Increase the flame to high and let the oil heat up more.
- Add the fried chickens to the heated oil for 2nd stage of frying.
- Once the chicken almost golden brown in color, strain out the chicken.
[Use kitchen paper or dry tissue paper to absorb excess oil]

Tips:
1. Frying chicken on medium flame will uniformly fry the chicken from both inside and outside. But, if chicken is fried on high flame, then the outer layer of chickens will get fried quickly and become hard, yet the inner part will remain little raw. If the chicken are fried more to get the inner part cooked properly, then the outer layer will be over fried and will become much harder.

2. In second step, chickens are taken out of oil before increasing the flame because, since the chicken are already cooked both inside & out. And here we want the outer layer of chickens to become crunchy, but inner portion to remain juicy. Putting the chickens instantly on highly heated oil will get the desired chrunch on outer layer in very short time. But, this short time span will prevent enough heat to reach the inner juicy portion. So, the inside of chickens will remain juicy. Gradual heating up of chickens along with oil would have made the chicken hard both inside out, as both inner & outer layers get adequate time to absorb heat. So, chickens are to be taken out while the oil is heated up.

Cooking

• 
• 
• 
• 

- Heat pan on medium-high flame
- Add 2 tbsp oil in the pan
- Add chopped ginger & garlic when the oil is hot
- Saute for 1/2 minute
- Add the onion and saute for another 1/2 minute
- Add the capsicum and saute for another 1 minute.
- Add the green chilis
[Do not make onions and capsicum too soft, it should be just soft]
- Turn the flame to low
- Add soya sauce, vinegar, red chilli sauce, tomato sauce, mix everything very well.
- Take about 300 ml water, mix 2 tsp corn flour. Make sure no lump is present
- Add this corn flour mixed water to the gravy.
[If you prefer more gravy, add more water and corn flour]
- Add the black pepper powder, sugar and little salt. Mix them well
[Soya sauce, red chilli sauce and tomato sauce all contains salt]
- Once the gravy start boiling and the rawness of corn flour disappears, add the fried chickens.
- Mix the chicken pieces well in gravy
- Continue cooking on low flame for 2 minutes

Chilli chicken is ready to be served!
Chilli Chicken makes a splendid combination with all types of fried rice and jira rice.