Chicken pepper fry

This punchy recipe is a classic from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu. It has a decent kick of pepper and spice that lingers on the palate. Serve these with appams – South Indian lacy pancakes made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk.

Chicken pepper fry Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamom pods, cracked
• 2 white onions, finely diced
• dried ground pepperberry, optional
• ground bush tomato, optional
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp curry leaves
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 kg chicken wings, wing tips removed
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fried curry leaves
• appams or steamed rice, to serve

Black pepper masala

• 1½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1½ tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 small dried chillies

Instructions

1. To make the black pepper masala, place all the ingredients in a frying pan over low heat and dry roast for 1 minute or until fragrant. Allow to cool before grinding to fine powder in a spice grinder.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and cook for 20 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the onion and cook for 4 minutes, or until softened and starting to colour.
3. Stir in the pepper masala, pepperberry, bush tomato and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
4. Add the ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, tomato and salt and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chicken and cook, for 2 minutes, stirring to thoroughly coat with the masala base.
6. Add 100 ml water (the water is to stop the masala base from burning, not to make a sauce), cover pan with lid, reduce heat to low and cook for 6 minutes.
7. Turn the chicken and cook for a further 6 minutes or until tender. The chicken should be nicely coated with the cooked masala paste.
8. Stir through the lime juice and discard the cinnamon stick. Top with fried curry leaves and serve with appams or steamed rice.

 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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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.

Stream free On Demand

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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