Crispy Fried Chicken

I know I said that I would be sharing recipes for Roasts and sides in the weeks to come. I did however forget to mention that the sides would not just be dips and salads/breads but also meaty (protein - veg/non-veg) starters/bites. After all you need to prepare a complete meal for the upcoming #Thanksgiving, #Christmas and #New Year celebrations. So the Crispy Fried Chicken did resonate out of Mummy's recipe of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) - the recipe of which I will share another day (will not specify when ;) )

This is an all too easy recipe to create. I did mention in one of my recent posts of my little one's love for Chicken Drumsticks. Well this was to please my princess. I served this Chicken starter with the Coleslaw - the KFC way and some dips as well. Yes and this is one of those long overdue recipes that has been sitting on the back burner as well.

My little one raved about the crispiness of the chicken and to top it was all drumsticks. She loved it to the very last bite.

You need: 

• 7-8 chicken drumsticks, cleaned
• 3-4 cups of breadcrumbs
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• Salt to taste
• Ginger and Garlic powder (optional)
• 1 chicken stock cube (optional)
• Oil - for frying battered chicken

Ammo required:

• A large wok
• A large flat plate with breadcrumbs
• A perforated ladle
• A perforated vessel lined with kitchen towel/tissues
• A large bowl to whisk eggs and dip the chicken drumsticks

The Make
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes | Cook time: 20-30 minutes | Serves 4-6 adults

1.  The first step in the process of making the Crispy Fried Chicken is to lay out all the required vessels and ingredients. If using the ginger and garlic powder and the stock cube, make sure to powder the stock cube and add it along with the ginger and garlic powder to the breadcrumbs. Alternatively you can also add it with the egg but sometimes all of the egg does not get used.
2. In a large wok, heat the oil on medium-low heat. Meanwhile, roll the drumsticks in the whisked eggs draining off the excess back in the bowl and roll it evenly over the flat plate with the breadcrumbs already spread out.
3. Once the oil heats up, gently slide in the prepared drumsticks and line up without any overlapping or interaction between each drumsticks. After 2-3 minutes, using the perforated ladle, turn over the drumsticks and repeat after another 2-3 minutes. Ensure that the batter does not burn and if the oil gets too hot between batches, lower the heat and repeat. Each batch to follow would take lesser time to fry. The first batch may take up to 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your wok and weight of the drumsticks. Transfer the fried chicken to the perforated vessel to drain off the excess oil.
4. Once the batches of the chicken drumsticks are fried and drained off the oil, serve hot with your favourite sides. In my case, it was the coleslaw, hot chili sauce for me and hubby and tomato ketchup for the little princess. The tartar sauce was for the calamari -the recipe of which will follow soon enough.

Hope you and your little one(s) enjoy this make as well.

Coconut-Carrot Rice

Ah such a comforting meal we just shared with Dad who is in town. This recipe came out from two recipes, one from my sis-in-law Bhavna and the other from the Thai Coconut rice that I had shared. I tweaked the latter a bit more with the toasted coconut gratings. It was amazing. Just goes to show that if you put a little bit of love in the cook, it comes out unexpectedly amazing. The rice was nice and fluffy too. I am sure that Mum would have loved it and plus the texture was exactly as she enjoys it -not mushy at all.

You need:

• 1 cup of fresh coconut gratings or 1 cup of coconut cream
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups of basmati rice / long grained rice, cleaned and set aside in bowl with water to soak
• 2 cups of boiling hot water
• 3-4 large carrots, grated
• 1 tbsp of butter (optional)
• 2 drizzles of oil

The Make:
Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes | Serves 3 adults

1. Grind the coconut to take the first milk and second milk (Refer Coconut Milk recipe here). Set aside the gratings from milk extracted coconut.
2. In a large wok, drizzle some oil and saute the residual coconut gratings until lightly browned. Set aside.
3. In the same wok, add a little oil and fry the carrot gratings on medium-low heat. Sprinkle some salt to taste. Saute for 5-10 minutes.
4. Add a tbsp of butter and then lower heat. Add in the second extraction of the coconut milk and the boiling hot water to the wok.
5. Once the water reaches boil point, add the cleaned rice from the soaking bowl, a fistful at a time.
6. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then add the first milk. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Check in between to see if the rice is not sticking to the wok. In the last few minutes before turning off the heat, top with the toasted coconut gratings.
7. Fluff the rice with a fork a and transfer to a serving bowl once cooked.

Serve hot with your favourite gravy. For us it was Pepper Chicken Drumstick in a light tomato gravy and Cucumber Raitha.

Bon Appetit! "This is what's for dinner tonight folks!"