A Trip to the South, via India

Here's a delicious Indian recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Indian Food Made Easy.  It's at least as good, if not better, than "real" fried chicken.  To save some money, you can buy the chicken with the skins on, then remove them yourself at home. 

Oven-fried Chili Chicken
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 3/4 pound skinless chicken pieces (I stick to dark meat here)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups breadcrumbs
1 large egg, beaten
lemon wedges, to serve

Marinade:
1 1/4 inch fresh ginger, chopped
9 cloves garlic, peeled
2-4 green chilies, seeds and membranes removed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala (buy it, if you don't have it on your spice rack.  It's amazing in scrambled eggs.)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
1) Blend all the marinage ingredients into a paste.  Put the chicken into a non-metallic bowl and cover really well with the marinade.  Let marinade in the fridge at least 2 hours, or overnight.  Even with just two hours, the stuff was super flavorful.

2) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  While the oven is heating, pour the oil in a roasting pan, and heat it up in the oven for 15 minutes. 

3) In a gallon freezer bag, mix the breadcrumbs and dried spices.  Take the chicken out of the marinade, letting the excess drip off.  Add the pieces one at a time to the freezer bag, shaking between each to make sure they don't stick.  After the first coat, dip each piece into the egg, then give a second breadcrumb coating.  This ensures the chicken is extra deliciously crispy. 

4) Place the chicken in the roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes.  Then lower the temperature to 400, flip the chicken, and cook for another 15-20 minutes, or until done.

I served this with a spicy mac and cheese and collard greens, for a twist on a traditional Southern Sunday dinner.  Oh, and a frosty beer.  Brooklyn Black Ops, to be exact.