Chicken Kadipattha Fry

Ever since Saigeetha Pai, a friend and blogger with her blog spot Geeths Dawath told me that the starter item Chicken Kadipattha at Deepa Comforts Mangalore is superb, I was planning to visit Deep Comforts to taste that spicy tangy dish. However, in passage of time, my wish remained unfulfilled.

Last week Nisarga Restaurant came out with their new menu and I spotted Chicken Kadipattha on the menu. We went for a take away and that tasted very good, with heaps of curry leaves, mounds of mustard seeds and loads of red long chillies! The spicy tangy tongue tickling taste made me come out with a recipe somewhat based on the two popular dishes Chicken Urval and Chicken Kubera. Unlike those two dishes, this is not so rich, but very spicy.

This is a starter dish, a South and North Indian fusion. It is not based on authentic recipe but is my own formula, but the dish turned out finger licking good as per those who tasted this. Once you taste this dish made with pure and healthy ingredients, you may not like Chinese starters.

Ingredients:
Chicken pieces with bone, without skin  - 500Gms(Around 16 kebab size pieces)
Lemon - 1/2
Corn Flour - 4 Tsp
Refined Flour(Maida) - 4 Tsp
Refined Oil - 250Ml or more for deep frying
Ghee/Refined Oil - 2-3 Tsp for shallow frying
Mustard seeds - 1 Tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 Tsp
Brown Onion paste - 4 Tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
Pepper powder - 1 Tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp or to taste
Cumin Powder - 1/2 Tsp
Tamarind extract - 4 Tsp(Small ball of tamarind in 20Ml water)
Red Long Chillies - 8-10
Curry leaves - 3-4 springs
Sugar - 1/2 Tsp)
Chopped Green Chillies - 2
Water - 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves - A handful chopped(Optional)

Method:
Wash, drain and marinate chicken pieces with with lemon squeeze, 1/4 Tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 Tsp salt and 1/2 Tsp pepper for 2-3 hours in the fridge.
Mix in corn flour and refined flour.
Add little water if necessary to coat the batter smoothly on the chicken pieces. The batter should feel like butter.
Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the chicken pieces, 4-5 pieces at a time on medium flame till crisp and golden. Drain and keep aside.
In a shallow pan, 2 Tsp ghee/oil, fry broken red long chillies and curry leaves well, remove and keep aside.
Add more oil and mustard seeds. Allow them to splutter.
Add chopped green chillies and fry till white and dry.
Add the ginger garlic paste along with brown onion paste and fry well till oil leaves the sides.
Add all the remaining masala powders, sugar and salt to taste. Fry quickly, taking care not to burn the masala.
Add tamarind extract and water. Mix well.
Let the sauce sizzle for a minute and thicken.
Now reduce the flame, add the fried chicken pieces, roll them in the gravy to coat them well and keep frying till they are semi dry.
Add the fried curry leaves and chillies, toss well and transfer to serving bowl.
Garnish with optional freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with lemon wedge.

Vegetarians please note:
You may try making this with any convenient veg item like Cauliflower, Paneer, Mushroom, Baby Corn, Potato, Yam, Raw Plantain or Soya Chunks.
Make a batter like you make for fritters using the ingredients mentioned for marination and the two flours. Dip the veg pieces in the batter and deep fry them till crisp and golden.
Further steps are similar to making Chicken Kadipattha but you may reduce the amount of spices.