Papa's Indian Fried Chicken
A lot of my memories of India stop at 11, when we moved to Chicago. The movies I watched, the food I ate, and the places I visited back then are frozen in time, at peak perfection. Like a lot of people during the pandemic, I’ve been eating and watching things that bring me comfort. For me, it is the three-hour Bollywood films from the 90’s and 00’s and the indulgent foods of my childhood in India. And repeats of The Office, to top it all off.
My husband and I managed a trip to India at the start of the year, before anyone was taking the coronavirus threat seriously. It was his first time visiting my home, specifically Odisha. My dad’s side of the family is from a city in Odisha called Berhampur. It’s a vibrant and bustling city. And every time I get to go there, I visit our family home, visit the little corner shop my cousins and I used to stop in for snacks with the loose change in the house, and of course, visit Girija.
The 12 years I’ve been with my husband, he has heard me talk about this restaurant and their fried chicken and within 2 hours of arriving in Berhampur, we were at Girija, picking up chicken. Indian fried chicken is almost always smaller, nugget-sized pieces, versus the American larger pieces. Girija’s famous red chicken pakoda (food coloring) has some classic Indian flavors, as well as some nods to Indo-Chinese cooking.
This last weekend, I was craving my Dad’s Berhampuri chicken pakoda. My version of this dish never seems to turn out as well as his, so I made him measure everything and finally jotted down one of our family favorites. His recipe is the closest recreation of this perfection. He adds in a few of his own twists but it does get very close to what you can find at Girija. Our family likes this with sambal olek or Indian green chili sauce (available at Indian grocers’ or online).
Ingredients
2-2.5 lb chicken thighs, cut into nuggets
2 eggs, whisked
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp grated garlic
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne or a milder chili powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 all-purpose flour
salt
10-12 curry leaves, roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 tsp MSG (optional)
1-2 drops red food color (optional but…iconic)
Neutral oil for frying (vegetable or peanut)
Method
In a large mixing bowl, whish the eggs and add in the ginger, garlic, vinegar, ketchup, cayenne, garam masala, and if using, the curry leaves, MSG, food color, and chicken 65 masala. Whisk well again.
Add the chicken pieces to the mixture. Let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally, 4 hours.
When you’re ready to fry, remove the chicken from the fridge and let it sit outside for 15-20 mins to come to room temperature. Now, add in some salt, the cornstarch, and the all-purpose flour. Mix well with your hands. The batter will be a little loose but should stay stuck to the chicken - if it’s not sticking to the meat, add 1 tsp of cornstarch at a time.
Heat your frying oil over medium-high heat, to 350 F; use a cooking thermometer, if you have one, or else stick a wooden spatula into the oil - if small little bubbles start forming around the spatula right away, the oil is ready. Fry in either a cast-iron or stainless steel pan - non-stick pans are not ideal.
Fry the chicken in batches, about 5-6 mins, since the pieces are small. Do not crowd the pan, if you want crispy chicken!
Drain on paper towels on a rack and if needed, sprinkle a little more salt. Serve with a hot sauce or a cooler dip like ranch or tzatziki, of your liking!
