Chettinad chicken

Credit: Feast magazine

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 cm-piece ginger, grated
• 2 long green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 long dried red chilli, chopped
• 2 tbsp chickpea (besan) flour (see Note)
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 800 g chicken breast fillets, thickly sliced on the diagonal
• 10 curry leaves (see Note)
• paratha (see Note), to serve

Instructions

Melt 1 tbsp ghee in a small pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, besan flour and turmeric, and cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lemon juice. Cool, then coat chicken with mixture. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining 1 tbsp ghee in a large frying pan over low heat. Add curry leaves and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chicken and brown for 3 minutes each side. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat and stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve with paratha.

Note

• Chickpea (besan) flour is available from health food shops and selected supermarkets.

• Curry leaves are available from greengrocers and Asian food shops.

• Paratha is flaky Indian bread made with wholemeal flour that’s cooked on a griddle. It is available from supermarkets in packets or in the frozen section of Asian food shops.

Also written by Kirrily La Rosa and Wendy Quisumbing. Photography by Chris Chen.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.