Chicken Pakoray (Chicken Pakora)
Imagine succulent pieces of chicken, marinated in a beautifully aromatic blend of spices, coated in the most gloriously golden, crispy batter. Simply delicious…
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
For the pakoras:
- 15 g fresh ginger peeled and minced/ finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves minced/finely grated
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 small lime zest and juice
- 300 g chicken breasts cut into approx 12 strips/ chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 70 g gram chickpea flour
- 60 ml cold sparkling water
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
For the mint and coriander chutney: optional
- 100 g fresh mint tough stalks removed
- 100 g fresh coriander leaves and stalks - are these included or removed?
- 1 clove of garlic
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 80 g fresh shredded coconut buy frozen (optional)
- 1 green chilli stalk removed (optional)
To serve:
- Yoghurt
- Cucumber
- Fresh herbs
- Lime
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, ½ tsp of the turmeric, garam masala and lime zest and juice until well combined.
- Add the chicken and season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to coat, then cover with cling film and leave to marinade in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the homemade mint and coriander chutney (if wished): put the mint, coriander, garlic, lime juice, sugar, salt, shredded coconut and chilli in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust the flavours as necessary - adding more sugar (for sweetness), salt, lime juice (acidity) or chilli (for heat) depending on your personal preference. If you prefer a milder chutney, de-seed the chilli or omit altogether. Pour into a bowl, cover and chill until ready to serve.
- For the batter: in a large bowl, lightly whisk together the gram flour, remaining ½ tsp turmeric and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the sparkling water until you have a smooth batter.
- Fill a large deep-saucepan, casserole pan or deep-fat fryer ⅓ full of oil and heat until it reaches 180C. Line a plate or baking tray with kitchen paper.
- Tip the marinated chicken pieces into the batter and stir to coat. Using tongs, remove the chicken pieces individually and carefully lower into the hot oil and fry for about 4 minutes - or until crispy and golden brown. Once you get the hang of it, you can fry in batches of 3 or 4 at once - don’t do too many or you will overcrowd the pan (the exact number you can do at once will depend on the size of the pan).
- Carefully remove the prawns from the oil using a slotted spoon and place on the kitchen-paper lined plate or baking tray to absorb any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Serve warm with the homemade mint and coriander chutney, yoghurt and fresh cucumber, garnished with herbs, with wedges of lime for squeezing over. Enjoy!
Notes
Serving suggestions: I love serving these Chicken Pakoras with the homemade mint and coriander, a dollop of cooling yoghurt (crème fraîche or sour cream would also work but are a little richer), refreshing cucumber, fresh herbs (mint, coriander, parsley and/or chives are all good options) and wedges of zesty lime. Delicious! If you don’t want to make your own mint and coriander chutney, a fruity mango chutney, sweet chilli sauce or fresh tomato salsa also works really well.
Make ahead: you can pop the chicken in the marinade the night before and cook the next day if you want to prep ahead.
Overcrowding: it is really important not to overcrowd the pan when frying or else the temperature could drop leaving you with oily, greasy Chicken Pakoray or the pakoray could stick together - neither of which are what we are going for!