Crispy Chicken 65 Bites

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Bite-size chicken thighs marinated in yogurt, ginger-garlic and Kashmiri chili, then dredged in a cornstarch-rice flour coating and deep-fried at 350°F until shatteringly crisp. It's the South Indian snack every home cook should have in their back pocket — big flavour, one pot of oil, and a squeeze of lemon at the end.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup rice flour
• 6 cups neutral oil, for deep-frying
• 1 whole lemon, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, salt and lemon juice. Add the chicken pieces and toss until every piece is coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.
2. Pour the oil into a deep, heavy pot so it comes no more than one-third up the sides — this leaves room for the bubbling when the chicken goes in. Clip on a thermometer and heat over medium to 350°F (175°C), about 10 minutes. Safety note: never leave hot oil unattended, keep water and kids away from the pot, and if the oil ever smokes or catches, slide a lid over it and turn off the heat — never pour water on it.
3. While the oil heats, scatter the cornstarch and rice flour over the marinated chicken and mix with your hands until each piece wears a slightly craggy, paste-like coating. If it looks dry and powdery, add 1 tablespoon of water; if it looks soupy, add another tablespoon of cornstarch.
4. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet next to the stove. Lower about one-third of the chicken into the oil piece by piece, laying each away from you. Do not crowd the pot — the pieces should float freely.
5. Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring gently after the first 2 minutes, until deep red-gold and crisp and the chicken reads 175°F (79°C) inside. Lift out with a spider or slotted spoon onto the rack, not paper towel, so the crust stays crisp.
6. Let the oil come back to 350°F (175°C) between batches — this takes 1 to 2 minutes — then fry the remaining two batches the same way.
7. Pile the hot chicken on a platter, squeeze over a lemon wedge, and serve immediately with the remaining wedges. Let the oil cool completely in the pot before straining or discarding it.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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