Indian Spiced Chicken Stir Fry
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6 servings
 
Ingredients
  • Chicken thigh – 800 gms, boneless and skinless
  • Mustard oil – 4 tbsp + ¼ cup
  • Poppy seeds – 3 tsp
  • Indian Five Spice / Bengali Panch Phoran – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Chana dal (split gram lentils) – 2 tbsp
  • Dry red chili – 4. chopped
  • Garlic – 10 cloves, minced
  • Ginger – ½ inch piece, grated
  • Onion – 5, large
  • Red bell pepper – 1, small, cut into thin long strips
  • Fresh green/red chili – 2, chopped
  • Freshly chopped coriander to garnish
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Thinly slice the onions. Heat about ¼ cup of oil in a wok and fry the sliced onion in batches to make crispy caramelized onions. This is the longest step in this recipe as you would have to do it in batches. If you tip in all the sliced onions at one go, they will steam and not fry. Hence, they won’t become crispy caramelized onion which is primary taste enhancer of this dish. Set the caramelized onion aside.
  2. Debone the chicken thighs and cut each thigh into 4 pieces. This stir fry recipe tastes best with small succulent cubes of chicken thighs but you can replace thighs with boneless cubes of chicken breasts too.
  3. Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Add the poppy seeds, panch phoran, turmeric, chana dal and dry red chilies for about 30 seconds.
  4. Then add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir fry for another one minute.
  5. Add ¾ of the caramelized onions, fresh chilies and red bell pepper strips. Stir fry them for couple of minutes. Set aside about 2 tablespoons of this mixture for garnish.
  6. Now add the chicken thigh pieces and sauté them with the spices. If the chicken release water, then do not add any additional water and keep stir frying them on medium-low heat. If the chicken starts to stick to the bottom of the wok and becomes too dry, add couple of splashes of water at a time and continue stir frying.
  7. Cook until the chicken thighs are completely cooked. You can check by cutting through one piece using the tip of a knife and it should be completely white. Please note that chicken breasts cook faster than chicken thighs. So, keep an eye on the dish and judge the doneness of the chicken depending on the meat you are using.
  8. Season the chicken stir fry with salt to taste and sprinkle some freshly chopped coriander leaves.
  9. Serve the Indian spiced chicken stir fry hot with the reserved onion, red pepper and chili mixture as well as the remaining crispy caramelized onions for added crunch. Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at https://www.flavorquotient.com/2017/03/indian-spiced-chicken-stir-fry/