Crispy Green Masala Chicken

This crispy green masala chicken is a twist to the traditional chicken with green masala recipe.  The freshness of the green masala coating the crispy fried chicken pieces made this dish unique and oh sooo good!

I have made green masala chicken and meat dishes before using my mom’s recipe, but this one is different even though I have used more or less the same ingredients. I just tweaked my mom’s recipe a bit by making cilantro the hero of the dish. I added the cilantro stems as well as leaves – a sizeable good portion of it. And in place of the white onions I used spring onions instead, grinding even the green leafy part for the green masala. Then I quickly tossed the fried chicken in the green masala in the final step to retain its green colour as well as its flavours to the maximum, instead of cooking the raw chicken in it.

All these little changes made the dish so delicious and sensational! Even the left over chicken was still yummy the next day.

Ingredients:
1lb Whole chicken without the breast
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
juice of half a lemon
salt as required
Vegetable oil for deep frying
For the green masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black pepper
2 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2 green chillies
1/2 a big bunch of cilantro with the stems
2 green onions
4 medium sized garlic cloves

Instructions:
1. Cut the chicken at the joints into 10 pieces. Keep aside the breast for making something else. Wash, clean and drain the chicken.
2. Rub salt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and red chilli powder on the chicken pieces and set aside for half an hour.
3. Grind together the green masala ingredients by first pulsing the dry spices and then adding the green ingredients, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It is important to add salt and lemon juice to retain the green colour.
4. Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or dutch oven. Do not heat it to the point when it starts smoking. When it is medium hot, (you can test it by dropping a crumb and if it sizzles then the oil is ready to fry) start frying the chicken in small batches till golden. Remove and drain in a colander.

5. Meanwhile add 1 tbs vegetable oil to a cast iron pan on medium heat. Add 1 tbs of the green masala to the oil, then add 1/2 cup of water. When it sizzles add the fried chicken pieces followed by the remaining green masala. Toss and turn over quickly to slather all the pieces with the green masala.
6. Sometimes when you fry raw chicken it remains uncooked inside. In that case close your cast iron pan with a lid after adding the water and simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or till you are sure that the chicken is cooked through and is not pink inside. You can omit this step if you are using a deep electric fryer for frying or if you steamed the chicken before frying it.
7. Serve immediately with fried rice. Enjoy!

Recipe

Crispy Green Masala Chicken

Author: Fouzia Husainy

Course gluten free, Main Course, Non Vegetarian

Cuisine Indian

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb Whole chicken without the breast
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 juice of half a lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• For the green masala
• 1 tsps cumin seeds
• 1 tsp black pepper corns
• 2 cloves
• 4 green cardamoms
• 4 garlic cloves medium size
• 2 green chillies
• 2 green onions the whole sprig
• 1/2 bunch cilantro with the stems
• 1 tbs + Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

 

• Cut the chicken at the joints into 10 pieces. Keep aside the breast for making something else. Wash, clean and drain the chicken.
• Rub salt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, turmeric and red chilli powder on the chicken pieces and set aside for half an hour.
• Grind together the green masala ingredients by first pulsing the dry spices and then adding the green ingredients, lemon juice, salt and garlic. It is important to add salt and lemon juice to retain the green colour.
• Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or dutch oven. Do not heat it to the point when it starts smoking. When it is medium hot, (you can test it by dropping a crumb and if it sizzles then the oil is ready to fry) start frying the chicken in small batches till golden. Remove and drain in a colander.
• Meanwhile add 1 tbs vegetable oil to a cast iron pan on medium heat. Add 1 tbs of the green masala to the oil, then add 1/2 cup of water. When it sizzles add the fried chicken pieces followed by the remaining green masala. Toss and turn over quickly to slather all the pieces with the green masala.
• Sometimes when you fry raw chicken it remains uncooked inside. In that case close your cast iron pan with a lid after adding the water and simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes or till you are sure that the chicken is cooked through and is not pink inside. You can omit this step if you are using a deep electric fryer for frying or if you steamed the chicken before frying it.
• Serve immediately with fried rice. Enjoy! So delicious!

Notes

Do not fry the chicken too crisp as it will lose all its juices. Make sure it is fried just right - crispy but juicy and tender inside.

Adding salt and lemon juice to the green masala ingredients before grinding retains its green colour. 

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