Oil-Fried Chicken Kababs | Indian Deep-Fried Chicken
One of the easiest starters that one could conjure is the oil- fried Chicken Kabab. May it be a high end restaurant or a street-side stall, it finds its place on the menu. This is the Indian version of the Deep-fried Chicken and it is oh so yumm! On its own served as bite sized pieces with a side of onion slices and lime wedges, it makes for a tasty snack but it also teams up well as a side kick to main courses. Try pairing it with a Biryani, it is absolutely heavenly. I absolutely relish the experience of biting through the crispy spicy coating, straight into the succulent chicken.
How to make Oil-Fried Chicken Kababs
You can use any cut of chicken but chicken thighs and drums work best for deep-frying. To ensure even cooking, cut the chicken into uniform sized pieces. Prep the chicken, pat dry and keep aside until we prepare the marinade. For the marinade sift all-purpose flour, cornstarch, kashmiri chilli powder (commercially, red food colour is used but I have skipped it and used only kashmiri chilli powder), cumin powder, garam masala powder and corainder powder into a mixing bowl. Follow this with the stone flower (optional). Next, add minced green chillies. Ensure that they are minced really fine (you do not want a large bite of the chilli when biting into the chicken!).
Follow this with ginger-garlic paste and two large eggs, lemon juice (to tenderize the chicken) and salt. Mix everything well until well combined into a thick paste. Add water if needed. The marinade should not be too thick nor too watery. It should be of coating consistency. Add the Chicken pieces to the bowl and coat them well with the marinade. Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate atleast for two hours but preferably overnight (highly recommended).
Thirty minutes before frying the chicken, take it out of the refrigerator and allow the pieces to come to room temperature. In the mean time, get the oil ready by heating it to medium-hot in a deep pot. Once it is hot enough, drop the coated chicken pieces one by one into the oil (do not overcrowd the pan), and fry them for about 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and has taken a deep reddish brown colour on the outside. Move the chicken kababs to an absorbent kitchen towel and continue frying the remaining pieces of chicken.
Allow the pieces to rest a bit while they continue to cook in the residual heat. This allows the juices to redistribute themselves through the chicken, making everybite juicy and succulent. Serve the chicken kababs hot with some sliced onion and lime/ lemon wedges and my Mint-Yoghurt Chutney. Enjoy! Note that, if deep-frying isn’t your thing, you can also make these chicken kababs by grilling them.
Oil-Fried Chicken Kababs
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Sieve
- Pot for deep frying
- Tongs/ slotted spoon
- Absorbent Kitchen Towel
Ingredients
- 1 kg Chicken thighs (bone-in), cut into medium-sized pieces
- Oil, for deep frying (as needed)
for the Marinade:
- ⅓ cup All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder (ground Paprika)
- 1 tbsp Cumin powder
- 1 tbsp Garam Masala powder
- 1 tbsp Corainder powder
- 2 tbsp Stone Flower (optional)
- 5 pc Green Chillies, minced
- 2 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
- 2 pc Eggs, large
- 1 pc Lemon, juiced
- Salt, as per your taste
- Water (if needed)
for Serving:
- Onion Rings, freshly sliced
- Coriander leaves roughly chopped
- Lime/ Lemon wedges
- Mint-Yoghurt Chutney (optional)
Instructions
Prepping the Chicken:
- Clean and skin the chicken thighs and cut them into uniform-sized pieces
- Pat them dry and set them aside
Making the Marinade:
- Sift all-purpose flour, cornstarch, kashmiri chilli powder (see notes), cumin powder, garam masala powder and corainder powder into a mixing bowl
- Crush and add the stone flower, followed by the green chillies
- Follow this with the ginger-garlic paste, eggs, lemon-juice and salt
- Mix everything well until well combined into a thick paste. Add water if needed. The marinade should not be too thick nor too watery. It should be of coating consistency
Marinating the Chicken:
- Add the Chicken pieces to the bowl and coat them well with the marinade paste
- Cover the bowl with cling film and refrigerate atleast for two hours but preferably overnight
Frying the Chicken Kababs:
- Thirty minutes before frying the chicken, take it out of the refrigerator and allow the pieces to come to room temperature
- In the mean time, get the oil ready by heating it to medium-hot in a deep pot
- Once it is hot enough, drop the coated chicken pieces one by one into the oil (do not overcrowd the pan)
- Fry them for about 8-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and has taken a deep reddish brown colour on the outside
- Move the chicken kababs to an absorbent kitchen towel and continue frying the remaining pieces of chicken
- Allow the pieces to rest a bit while they continue to cook in the residual heat
Serving the Chicken Kababs:
- Serve the chicken kababs hot with some sliced onion, coriander and lime/ lemon wedges and my Mint-Yoghurt Chutney
Notes
- Commercially, red food colour is used but I have skipped it and used only kashmiri chilli powder
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