Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Kentucky Fried Bread Fruit

Looking at the title of the dish 'Kentucky Fried Bread Fruit', don't get an impression that I am following the recipe from the world famous fast food chain. This is made to look like Kentucky style but the masala ingredients as well as the method are entirely different. 

Kentucky Fried Chicken is a universally liked fried snack that's very popular in India. We have made similar fried chicken in the Nineties, using masala mix by name 'American Style Fried Chicken Masala Mix' marketed in the UK by some enterprising Indians. My brother used to get that mix for us in one kilo jar that we used to keep in the fridge and fry chicken instantly without much sweat when guests appeared suddenly or when we had in house cocktail parties. 

I have been trying to come out with the formula of that masala mix but it was difficult to make it here in Mangalore since availability of a few ingredients was not so easy then. Later I lost interest in eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, rather avoided it since it's addicting and not good for health, since they use some ingredients that are harmful in the long run to those who consume that.

When we had Bread Fruit in lavish supply, I suddenly thought of making something similar to Kentucky Fried Chicken using that. Making the masala mix required wheat flour, oats, onion powder, garlic powder and a few spices. I started frying onions to make them crisp and brown but it was a time consuming process. I also kept some chopped garlic ready. Then came the question as to which masala can I try marinating the bread fruit with. My life saver was Kundapur Masala Powder, that we have in stock always. Besides, this masala powder has many spices and condiments in it. It also blends well with the flavour of bread fruit. So I experimented with the marinade consisting of Kundapur Masala Powder, Kashmiri Chilli Powder and a couple of other ingredients. Then my worry was, how to make the masala less pungent and more delicious. Flavours and nothing but flavours it needed to make the snack delicious. Bread Fruit is supposed to be cooked with mild spices but Kundapur Masala is heavily loaded with spices. So I added brown onion paste. The end result was fantastic, and I could not believe myself when I tasted the first piece straight from the frying pan. It had all the flavours, tanginess, mildly hot chilli, aroma of the southern spices and also the crunchiness of oats!

Try this when you have guests at home. They won't believe that you can make wonderful fried starter or tea time snack with bread fruit just like Kentucky fried Chicken! They may not say anything, but may ask for more and more, finally skipping lunch or dinner and eating just these! Then again, this is pure veg, for I have not used egg for binding the coating.
Ingredients:
Bread Fruit - 600 Gms
Chopped garlic- 1 TSp
Brown Onion Paste - 1 Tbsp
Kundapur Masala Powder - 3 Tsp
Kashmiri Chilli Powder - 1 Tsp
Salt - 1 Tsp or according to taste
Thin Tamarind pulp - 1 Tbsp(Chickpea size tamarind pulp extracted in 15 ml water)
Refined Flour(Maida) - 1 Tbsp
Corn Starch - 2 Tbsp
Water - About 40 Ml
Oats - 1 cup or more for coating
Refined Oil - For deep frying
Method:
Wash Bread fruit thoroughly, shave off the skin, remove the center core, slice into 1/2" thick and one and 1/2" wide slices and drop them in cold water. 

Combine Kundapur masala powder, Kashmiri chilli powder, salt, tamarind pulp, brown onion paste and chopped garlic.
Drain the bread fruit slices and apply the marinade over them, sprinkling little water if necessary.
Keep for 15-30 mins at room temperature.
Mix in refined flour and corn flour adding water little by little, sufficient to cover the slices with a sticky coating, which feels almost like wet clay.
Keep oil for heating in a kadai and keep oats ready in a bowl by the side.
Roll each slice in oats to coat them on all sides and deep fry in medium hot oil for 3-5 minutes or until they are crisp and golden.
Collect oats droppings from the oil each time you finish a round of frying to avoid oil getting contaminated.
Drain excess oil and serve hot with any dipping sauce of your choice.
I ate them as it is, for they had the right amount of hotness and tanginess, if not the right flavour.

Note:
You can dry roast oats for 2 mins and then powder them lightly and use that powder to coat the slices before frying.
You can also use one beaten egg white to bind the coating. In that case, beat the egg white, dip the marinated slices in oats, dip in egg white and fry them.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wonderful recipe 😁

Rajanikanth Shenoy, Kudpi said...

Thank you Padmini Kamath.

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