Chilli Chicken

Preparation time with marination 1:30 hrs

Cooking time 25 minutes

Serves 2

Indo Chinese cuisine 

A brief history 

The story of Indian Chinese cuisine began in the 18th century in Calcutta where the British had established the East India Company and Calcutta was made the capital of Colonial India 

China had discovered Silk routes and a thriving, trade was established between the two countries where silk and tea were transported to British India. Chinese immigrants were silk traders, dentists, carpenters, who came to India and would cook their food using local ingredients.

 East India Company at Calcutta soon began to employ skilled and unskilled Chinese workers and they set up Chinese fancy food restaurants.

"China Bowl " " China Pearl " were set up in China Town Calcutta and soon every city in India had Chinese food joints,  with Indian flavours.  Although very different from what was eaten in China.

Countless Indian restaurants across India serve Indian Chinese food, spicy gravies, saucy noodles, veg and non-vegetarian Manchurian, the list is endless.

It's my comfort food. I often experiment with different variations of the recipe 

Sharing one I like but with some modifications.

Ingredients : 

• 500 gms boneless chicken cut into small pieces 
• Cornflour to make a slurry
• Red chilli powder to taste
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste  
• Salt to taste
• Soya sauce
• Tomato ketchup/ Schezewan sauce
•  1Capsicum cut into cubes 
•  1Onion cut into cubes 
• Spring onion only the green portion, finely chopped to garnish 
• Peppercorns freshly crushed to taste
•  1 Egg 

Method: 

•  Wash and pat dry chicken
• Rub salt, pepper, chilli powder and ginger garlic paste, soya sauce  add cornflour and1 egg  lightly beaten,  to make a batter
• Put chicken pieces in the batter
•  leave aside for 1 hour
• Fry in sufficient oil till crispy.
• Put it on absorbent paper

• For the gravy

• Heat a pan and add 2 tsp oil
• Fry ginger and garlic lightly pounded
• Add white portion of spring onions and fry
• Add tomato ketchup/Schezewan sauce
• Chilli sauce, soya sauce 
• Add capsicum and fry
• Now add cornflour slurry and cook 
• Last of all add fried chicken
• Garnish with spring onion greens
• Adjust salt and chilli 

       Note:

Can add some vinegar and some sugar to make a sweet-sour version

You can avoid deep frying, can shallow fry but it won't be crisp.

You can try the same recipe with any meat 

Or cottage cheese, boiled baby potatoes, too

Nutritional value. (Approx) per 100 gms Chicken 

Calories  226 kcal

Proteins 19.68gms

Fats      8gms

Carbs   17.45 gms