Suraj’s Dry Chilli Chicken Recipe / Chicken Recipes

   There are friends, then there are best friends and then there are best of best friends who are part of family. Akhil, my husband and Suraj has been the best of friends since college. He came to Seattle two years back and visits us every weekend. He got married eight months back and his sweet and talented wife Vini is one of my best friends now! For the past two and half years, Suraj has been a part and parcel of our family and since the last 10 months, Vini too! This thing called the same wavelength; I guess we all seem to be sharing it! My little one Aarav simply loves spending time with him. They bond big time!

    Suraj is a hardcore foodie who does not mind spending time in the kitchen eating or cooking with us! Some of you might have already come across his yummy spicy chicken wings roast. Whenever I try new non-vegetarian dishes/sweets, he would be the first to test and his thumbs up for me is a sure guarantee that the dish is a hit. Coming to the recipe, this special, very yummilicious dry chilli chicken is something which would make you drool! Suraj is the man behind this dried chilly chicken version and has graciously obliged to share this recipe for us! He uses fish sauce and chicken bouillon cubes to make it extra tasty but you can omit them both if you want. Hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we did. I will soon post his delicious egg drop soup and thattukada chicken fry recipe .

      On a different note, some people have been asking me for baby food recipes. I must say that feeding a child would be the most difficult task for any mom. My son is 20 months old now and like every other child, he too is a very picky eater. I tried cooking several dishes for him and we ended up eating all those! His doctor advised us to give him whatever we eat at home. He loves dosa, chapathi, bread toasted with ghee, cheese toast, avocado shake and sometimes he loves to have ghee rice, fried rice, biriyani and other variety rice too. It’s difficult to make  him eat veggies now but I am quite confident that he will get there soon :).

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Do check out my Christmas menu .

Dry Chilli Chicken Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1) Boneless chicken (chicken breast / thighs ) – Around 400 gm (I used 2 chicken breasts), cut into small cubes

2) All purpose flour – 1.5 tsp

    Corn flour – 1.5 tp

    Kashmiri chilly powder – 1/2 tsp

    Soy sauce – 1.5 tsp

    Egg, beaten – 1.5 tbsp

    Salt – To taste

3) Onion – 1 large (About 2.5 cups),  finely chopped

    Ginger – 2 tsp, minced

    Garlic – 2 tsp, minced

4) Kashmiri chilly powder – 3/4 tsp

    Spring onion (white part) – 2 tbsp, chopped

5) Red and green bell pepper – 1/4 cup each, thinly sliced and halved

6)  Soy sauce -  2 tsp

     Chilly sauce – 2 tsp ( We use sriracha sauce)

     Tomato ketchup – 1.5 tbsp

     Fish sauce – 1/4 – 1/2 (do not add more than 1/2 tsp, this is optional)

7) Corn flour – 1/2 tsp dissolved in 2 – 3 tbsp water

8) Salt – To taste

9) Oil – To deep or shallow fry

10) Spring onion (green part) – 2 tbsp, to garnish

Method

1. Add all the ingredients numbered 2 to the chicken pieces and mix everything well. Set aside for 20 minutes. Shallow fry or deep fry the chicken pieces until they turn golden brown. Do not overcook them, they will be done in 5 – 7 minutes. Drain on to a paper towel and set aside.

2. Heat 1.5 – 2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan. Add finely chopped onion and saute until they start to change color. Add ginger, garlic and continue sauteing until onion turns golden. Add kashmiri chilly powder and chopped spring onion (white part). Saute for 1 minute until the raw smell of chilly powder disappears. Add sliced bell peppers and saute for 2 – 3 minutes. Now add all the sauces numbered 6 and mix well. Add corn flour in water (number 7). Mix well. Finally add in the fried chicken pieces. Mix everything well. Add salt or more of the sauces, if required. Garnish with chopped spring onion.  Serve hot chilli chicken with fried rice/noodles or as an appetizer.

Tip

Be careful while adding salt, as all the sauces are already salty. For an extra taste, add 1 – 2 chicken bouillon cubes. Powder them and add while sauteing onion or add them powdered along with the sauces during the final stage of preparation.

 

   And for those of you who wonder how I manage the blog with a busy toddler, here are a few pics that shows how tough the whole process of photographing is with Aarav around! It is quite a challenge. My cutie pie loves to come and watch me photograph, and many a times, he would throw his toys into the dishes or poke his fingers inside or run away with the chips/ pappad/ other props that I use for presentation. 🙂 It is tiring for sure, but I truly cherish those special moments with my son, which time would never bring back! So friends, do enjoy Suraj’s yummy chilli chicken! And don’t forget to let me know your feedback if you liked it / if you have any suggestions to make it better.