Masala chicken

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken cut into 12 pieces at the joints – 1.5kgs
Lemon juice – ½ cup
Salt to taste
Oil –1 cup (for deep frying) + 1 tspn
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tblspn
Red chilly powder – 1 tspn
Turmeric powder – ½ a tspn



For the dry roast masala:
Cloves – 6
Zeera seeds – 1tspn
Coriander seeds – 1tblspn
Cinnamon – 1 inch stick
Rice grains – 1 tspn

For the fried masala:
Medium sized onion – ½
Curry leaves – ¼ cup
Dry red chillies – 2 long
Whole Black pepper corns – 1 tspn

Method: Clean, wash and dry the chicken with paper towels. Rub salt and ¼ cup lemon juice all over the chicken pieces, leave for 15 minutes. . Roast each of the dry masala ingredients separately. The rice grains should be roasted till they turn opaque. Grind all the roasted spices and keep aside. Chop the ½ onion and fry it in a little oil along with the curry leaves, dry red chillies (break them and fry their seeds too) and pepper corns. Grind the wet fried masala separately and keep aside. Marinate the chicken with ginger garlic paste, red chilly powder (resham patti preferred), turmeric powder and keep aside for ½ - 1 hour.  Heat the oil in a kadai (a thick bottomed vessel), deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till golden brown and set aside.  Take another kadai, heat 1 tspn oil on medium heat and add the ground masalas – the dry roast followed by the wet fried one. Mix well, pour ½ a cup of water from the sides, adjust the salt & let it come to boil.  Add the fried chicken pieces, turn them over and let them simmer for 2 or 3 mins till the masala thickens and coats the chicken pieces. Add some chopped coriander. The masala chicken is now ready to be served. Enjoy with rice and curry of your choice.