Did I ever tell you about Surayya? She’s our cook back in Pakistan. A very, very… an exceptionally talented lady, and her talent extends far beyond cooking. She’s smart, quick on the uptake, and always 2 steps ahead. Extremely observant, and of course a very good cook. My mother taught her a lot, but she was no novice when she came to us either.

AUTHENTIC Surayya’s Chicken! Rolled in breadcrumbs- unbelievably crispy!

My appreciation for her dedication and hard work grew manifold after I moved to the US (of course). It would take me all day to cook one dish, and I would be too tired to make the bed or do the dusting. Pathetic, I know.

This chicken was rolled in flour.

I have learnt a lot from her, that I will IA share here, and I’ll start with her fried chicken recipe. I’ve already shared a fried chicken recipe on the blog, you can go to that post here > Crispy, Golden Fried Chicken. It’s a great recipe, but I’ve been making it for ages and I was totally ready for a different flavor.

I love the flavors that Surayya uses. They’re simply outstanding. Fried chicken is so easy, and such a great meal. And there’s nothing to it!

Fried Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

• 1 chicken cut into pieces
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar/lemon juice/combination of the two
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 jalapeño pepper (or 3-5 green chillies, depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 tsp salt (or according to your taste)

For frying:

• 1 egg
• Oil for deep frying

Coating:

• 1 rounded cup flour
• just shy of ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp red chili powder

OR

• breadcrumbs (this is what Surayya uses)

 Method:

Blend all the ingredients of the marinade except the yogurt in a grinder or food processor. (I have also just chopped them up and used them, but grinding brings the flavors out more… I think.) Mix in the yogurt and marinate the chicken in the mixture for a few hours or overnight.

When you are ready to fry the chicken, crack an egg into the chicken and mix it in with a spoon or a fork.

In a shallow dish/plate, mix the flour, salt and red chilies. (Or, you can just use breadcrumbs which I didn’t have on hand.)

Heat the oil until hot but not smoking.

Roll the chicken in the flour mixture..

…and put it in the oil to fry. Do not over crowd the pan.

Fry the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side.

Drain on paper towels and transfer to serving dish.

Serve hot, with ketchup, of course.

Notes: Do not over fill the pan with oil, otherwise it will bubble up and over flow when you put the chicken in. (Don’t ask me how I know that.)

How to make the chicken crispy: A number of people have asked me this on my previous fried chicken post. The trick is to cook the chicken on medium for the first few minutes, and then for the last few minutes, turn the heat up to medium high/high, and really let the crust get crisp. You know the expression, ‘burnt to a crisp?’ We don’t want to burn it, of course, but it takes a certain degree of heat to get the crispiness in. Keep that in mind. At this point, you will see that the edges are starting to turn brown.

The edges are turning brown.

Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat again and repeat on the other side.

Just be careful not to brown it too much, and try to maintain that appetizing golden brown color. It will also turn a shade or two darker when you take it out.

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