Name: Chicken Majestic
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 200 g Boneless Chicken Breast, cut into long, thin strips; ¾ tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste, divided for marinade and sauce; ½ tsp Salt, divided; ½ Egg; 1½ tbsp Corn Flour, for coating; ¼ cup Indian-Style Yogurt, thick, whisked smooth (for the sauce); ⅛ tsp Ground Turmeric; ½ tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder; ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder, spicy; ¼ tsp Garam Masala; ¼ tsp Ground Cumin; 2 Green Chili Pepper, slit lengthwise; ½ tbsp Garlic, finely minced, for sauce; 10 Curry Leaves, generous handful; ½ tsp Soy Sauce, dark, optional for depth; as needed Cooking Oil, for deep frying; 1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped

1 hrtotal

40 min hands-on20 min hands-off

Prep 20 min · Cook 20 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: High

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Method

First marinade: in a bowl, mix the thin chicken strips with some of the ginger-garlic paste, a pinch of salt and the egg white until evenly combined.
Add the cornflour to the chicken. Toss continuously until every strip is thickly coated in a sticky white batter. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes so the coating sets.
10 min
Heat frying oil to medium-high in a heavy kadhai. Add the coated chicken strips one at a time so they do not clump together. Fry for 5 minutes until the outside is very crisp and pale golden. Lift onto absorbent paper.
5 min
Make the yogurt mixture: in a small bowl, whisk the thick curd with the Kashmiri chilli powder, hot red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, garam masala and salt until smooth and well spiced.
Make the glaze: heat a measured amount of oil in a wide wok over medium-high heat. Flash-fry the crushed garlic, slit chillies and a generous handful of fresh curry leaves. Toss quickly for about 15 seconds until the leaves crisp up and release their aroma.
15 sec
Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste to the wok. Sauté for 30 seconds to cook off the raw, pungent edge.
30 sec
Turn the heat right down. Pour the spiced yogurt into the wok. Keep stirring continuously so the yogurt does not curdle.
Incorporate the dark soy sauce. Maintain the low-heat reduction for 2-3 minutes. The liquid must undergo a massive state change, condensing into a phenomenally thick, highly spiced, mirror-glossy paste that distinctly bleeds lipid (oil) at its perimeter.
2–3 min
Turn off the heat. Add all the crisp fried chicken strips to the wok at once.
Toss quickly and firmly so the thick, fiery yellow-red glaze coats every strip without softening the crust. Top with fresh coriander and serve immediately.

How to tell it's done

The chicken should be crisp and well spiced outside, under a dry, sharp coating of yogurt and curry leaf.

Getting it right

Tip

What makes a real chicken majestic is the cut: long, very slender strips give you more surface, and so more crispness. That crunch is meant to play against the earthy hit of fried curry leaves in the thick, dry yogurt glaze.

What to serve it with

A towering monolith of Hyderabadi banquet culture. It commands respect as a totally standalone, fiercely dry appetizer, requiring only the accompaniment of a hyper-chilled beverage to extinguish the residual spice.

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Ingredients