Malabar chicken wings
Item 1 of 1
Crunchy, fiery and jam-packed with a plethora of perfectly balanced Indian spices, these chicken wings are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Served with a tempered tomato chutney and adorned with coconut, ghati masala and curry leaves, we strongly suggest scaling up the recipe as you'll want at least four or five of these wings each!
First published in 2019
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 500g of chicken wings
- 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp of distilled vinegar
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tsp black pepper, ideally from Malabar, coarsely ground
- 1 tbsp of ginger, chopped
- 100g of rice flour
- 100g of cornflour
- salt, to taste
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 2 sprigs of curry leaves
- 1 red chilli
- 20g of freshly grated coconut
- 2 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped
- 5 baby pickled onions, pink or white
Ghati masala
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 50g of desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp of roasted peanuts
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- salt, to taste
Tomato chutney
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- 5 whole dried kashmiri chillies
- 1 tbsp of chana dal
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 pinch of turmeric
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
- salt
Tempering mix
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp urad dal
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 pinch of asafoetida
- 1 dried chilli, broken
SAVE RECIPE
Method
1
Begin by making the tomato chutney, as this can be kept in the fridge for a few days and made in advance. Place the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chana dal and fry until golden brown, then set aside on a plate. In the same pan, add the chillies and fry until crisp and beginning to colour, then add the garlic cloves and lower the heat
- 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp of chana dal
- 5 whole dried kashmiri chillies
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
2
Cook for another 3–5 minutes until the garlic begins to colour, then add the tomatoes, a pinch of salt and the turmeric. Sauté until the tomatoes break down (about 5–10 minutes), then transfer the contents of the pan along with the reserved chana dal into a blender and blitz until smooth. Taste for seasoning – you may need to add a little water if it’s too thick
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- salt
- 1 pinch of turmeric
3
To temper the tomato chutney, heat the teaspoon of oil in a pan, then add the mustard seeds and ural dal. When the urad dal turns golden, add the curry leaves and broken chilli. Finally, add the asafoetida, cook for a few seconds, then pour the tomato chutney into the pan. Give everything a good mix then set aside until ready to serve (or reserve in the fridge if making further in advance)
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp urad dal
- 1 sprig of curry leaves
- 1 dried chilli, broken
- 1 pinch of asafoetida
4
Make the ghati masala (which can also be done in advance) by placing the oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, cook for 1 minute then transfer to a food processor or blender. Toast the sesame seeds for 30 seconds in the same pan, then transfer to the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Blitz to a coarse powder, then taste for seasoning. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 15 days
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled
- 50g of desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp of roasted peanuts
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
- salt, to taste
5
To cook the chicken wings, remove the tips from each wing and trim them into neat pieces. Place them in a bowl and add the ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, turmeric and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside for 15 minutes
- 500g of chicken wings
- 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp of distilled vinegar
- salt, to taste
6
Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, green chilli, rice flour, cornflour, Malabar pepper, ginger and the rest of the vinegar to the wings and mix well. Set aside for 1 hour
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 100g of rice flour
- 100g of cornflour
- 1 tsp black pepper, ideally from Malabar, coarsely ground
- 1 tbsp of ginger, chopped
7
Preheat a deep-fat fryer or deep pan of oil to 160°C
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
8
Deep-fry the marinated chicken wings in batches for 10–12 minutes, until very crisp and a deep golden colour. For the last 30 seconds, briefly deep-fry the red chilli and curry leaves until crisp and lightly coloured
9
To serve, place a large spoonful of tomato chutney on a serving platter. Arrange the chicken wings alongside, then scatter over the coconut, coriander, pickled onions, ghati masala and fried curry leaves. Finish with the fried red chilli and serve
- 20g of freshly grated coconut
- 2 tbsp of coriander leaves, chopped
- 5 baby pickled onions, pink or white
First published in 2019
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