Tandoori Chicken Pops
Growing up, I seldom remember a weekend where we had the house to ourselves. While few weekends were spent hosting visiting family and friends from far off places, most of our Saturday nights was spent amidst mighty morsels of succulent bites of food. My parents, like most true-blood Indians, love to shower people with their hospitality and feed them till they’re almost ready to burst. We Indians are known for our need to treat our guests with the utmost care and generosity, and one common way we all seem to achieve in doing so is through our food. Food holds a very special place in any Indian household. No festivity is complete without a table laden with colourful dishes end to end, enough to please a king.It’s no wonder that out of all the rooms in a home, many Indians take the most pride in showing you their kitchens. Truly, we love food, and our life surrounds it. Our conversations, no matter how they begin always seem to divert to the food related with the topic in question. A simple wedding announcement would automatically lead to the designing of the menu. Even meeting up with a long lost friend would be done over lunch or dinner, over food they could reminisce about.
Prep time: 1 hr | Cooking time: 15-20 min | Makes: 8-10 pops
2 large chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp plain yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
light cooking oil
salt, to taste
light cooking oil, for deep frying
bamboo skewers
MARINATE chicken strips yogurt, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, spices and salt. Allow it to sit in the fridge for at least an hour or so. For best results, marinate over night.
HEAT oil in a deep pan, large enough to fry 3-4 strips at a time. Dip each strip into plain flour, coating well on all sides, before adding them to hot oil.
FRY till crisp and golden on all sides. Drain on paper towels, poke through with skewers and serve with Coriander/Mint Chutney.
ALTERNATIVELY, you can avoid deep frying by simply grilling the marinated chicken on a hot grill till tender and done.
Comments