Crispy Chicken Pakora with Mint Chutney

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Bite-size chicken thigh pieces tumbled in a thick chickpea-flour batter spiked with ginger, garlic, green chile and toasted spices, then shallow-fried in a skillet until the crust shatters. A bright mint-cilantro chutney cuts the richness. Using an inch of oil in a heavy pan instead of a deep fryer keeps the technique — and the cleanup — manageable on a weeknight.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
• 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne plus 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup whole-milk yogurt

• 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
• 3 tbsp rice flour or cornstarch
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds), optional
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 serrano chile, minced
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped
• 1/2 cup cold water, plus more as needed
• 3 cups neutral oil for frying, such as canola or peanut

• 1 1/2 cups mint leaves, packed
• 1 cup cilantro, packed
• 1 serrano chile, stemmed
• 1 inch piece ginger, peeled
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp cold water

• 1 small red onion, sliced paper-thin
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala, optional

Instructions

1. Toss the chicken pieces with the ginger, garlic, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, chili powder and yogurt in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours.
2. Make the chutney: combine the mint, cilantro, serrano, ginger, lime juice, yogurt, sugar, salt and 2 tbsp cold water in a blender. Blend 45–60 seconds, scraping down once, until smooth and vivid green. Taste and add salt or lime as needed, then chill until serving.
3. Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 60–90 seconds, until fragrant, then crush coarsely in a mortar or under the flat of a knife.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the besan, rice flour, toasted crushed seeds, garam masala, ajwain, baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt. Add the minced serrano and cilantro.
5. Scrape the marinated chicken and all its marinade into the dry mix and stir to coat. Add cold water 2 tbsp at a time — usually 1/3 to 1/2 cup total — mixing until the batter is thick enough to cling to each piece in a heavy, spoonable coat with no dry flour pockets. It should look like wet cement, not pancake batter. Let it rest 10 minutes.
6. Pour oil into a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron or heavy skillet to a depth of 3/4 to 1 inch. Heat over medium to 350°F on a clip-on thermometer, about 6–8 minutes. Set a wire rack over a sheet pan nearby.
7. Using two spoons or your fingers, drop the coated chicken pieces into the oil one at a time, spacing them apart. Fry 8–10 pieces per batch — do not crowd the pan, or the oil temperature will crash.
8. Fry 3 minutes, then flip with a spider or slotted spoon and fry 3 to 4 minutes more, until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into a thick piece registers 175°F. Adjust the burner between batches to hold the oil at 340–355°F.
9. Transfer to the wire rack (not paper towels, which steam the crust) and season immediately with a pinch of salt. Repeat with the remaining batches, letting the oil come back up to 350°F each time.
10. For maximum crunch, return all the pakora to the 350°F oil for a 45-second second fry, then drain again. Dust with chaat masala, pile onto a platter with the sliced red onion and lemon wedges, and serve hot with the mint chutney.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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