Buttermilk chicken pakoras

"These buttermilk chicken pakoras are a half-way combination between a chicken nugget and a spicy pakora, typically sold in dhabas (roadside eateries) along Indian highways. My boys eat these with all kinds of dipping sauces, like mayonnaise, but I like it best served with dhania pudina chutney (coriander and mint chutney)."

Buttermilk chicken pakoras. Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs, cut into 2-3 cm chunks
• 2 cups (500 ml) buttermilk
• 2 cloves
• 2 ½ cm piece cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tsp fennel seeds
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 2 tsp salt
• 150 g rice flour
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp chilli powder
• Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 125 ml full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
  

For the dhania pudina chutney (coriander and mint chutney)

• 1 cm x 2 cm piece ginger
• 100 g fresh mint leaves, shredded
• 100 g fresh coriander leaves and upper stems, roughly chopped
• 3 green chillies
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) cold water

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken, buttermilk, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, fennel seeds, cardamom and half the salt in a large, heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and tender. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the spiced buttermilk to a plate. Strain the buttermilk and set aside, discarding the whole spices.

2. To make the chutney, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Alternatively, grind each ingredient separately using a pestle and mortar, then mix together in a bowl. Serve immediately, or cover and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.

3. Heat enough oil to deep-fry in a large, heavy-based saucepan over high heat. While the oil is heating, place the rice flour in a medium bowl with the cumin, chilli power and remaining salt. Whisk in 200 ml of the strained buttermilk with the yoghurt, until evenly combined.

4. Test a small quantity of the batter in the oil to test the heat, it should begin to immediately sizzle and darken. If the oil is not hot enough, heat it for a bit longer and test again. Using a slotted spoon, remove the trial batter and lower the heat to medium. Do not fry pakoras over a high heat, as the outside will burn and the inside of the batter will remain raw.

5. Dip the cooled chicken pieces in the batter, ensuring they are totally covered, then deep-fry in batches. Do not overfill the pan as this will drop the temperature of the oil, resulting in soggy, oily fritters.

6. Transfer the cooked chicken pakoras to a paper-towel lined plate. Serve hot, with the dhania pudina chutney (coriander and mint chutney) for dipping.

NoteWe never had a food processor in my house when I was young. This chutney was made on a sil batta (in Bengal it was called a shil nora), a stone grinder that comes in two pieces: a flat heavy piece at the bottom and an oblong stone. The bottom piece would be scarred with a chisel and hammer at regular intervals to create a rough surface. The fresh chutney ingredients were put on top of the flat stone and the oblong stone was then rolled over the fresh ingredients to crush and break them down to a paste. The aroma that rose as the mint and coriander were crushed between the stones is one of my favourite childhood aromatic memories. Just after I moved to England, I managed to convince my husband to carry back a sil battain in his luggage on one of his business trips to Dhaka (he had a bigger luggage allowance). He was not impressed at having to carry a huge stone in his luggage until I made him the chutney in the traditional way. Once he had watched the process and tasted the chutney, he never again complained about the stone! If you do get hold of a stone grinder (or even a good heavy pestle and mortar), start by pounding the ginger so that it’s broken down into shreds, then set it aside. Next, pound the coriander and the mint, followed by the green chillies (broken into pieces). Add the salt and the ginger back in and continue to grind, gradually adding the remaining ingredients until they form a rough paste. Add the water in stages when grinding, as you may not need the full amount. You can use a food processor for speed if this sounds too much, but I think it tastes better when using a traditional stone crushing method.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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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.

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