Thattukada Chicken Fry

Thattukada Chicken Fry, chicken is marinated in lots of spices, crushed ginger garlic, red chillies and fried in coconut oil. The fried curry leaves adds such a wonderful aroma to the fried chicken and the fried masala crumbs takes this fry to the next level..

Thattukada-Chicken-Fry

Thattukada Chicken Fry – Thattukadas are the local street food stalls in Kerala. They are often small covered push carts or vans or cycle carts. They mostly come to life in the evenings and you can find a big crowd of people enjoying the spicy, hot and delicious food there. I am sure that every Malayalee has tried this local fast food version at least once.

Thattukada-Chicken-Fry

The food that is served in these places is usually quite simple- the usual tea and coffee, omelets, fish fry, chicken and beef curry and fry, the famous Kerala porotta, dosas (rice and lentil pancakes or crepes made on hot iron plate with a smear of coconut oil on top), banana fry, etc etc.

Thattukada-Chicken-Fry

But let me tell you that it is the aroma of the cooking that does the trick. You just cannot ignore the smell if you are passing by these thattukadas. Half the appeal of the food stalls lies in its aroma. Its kinda like, aromatherapy for the stomach or like a food spa. 🙂

My love for thattukada food started after I got married. My husband is a passionate lover of thattukada food. As I was brought up in Dubai, I found street food highly unhygienic and thought that it was simply overrated. Little did I know about its amazingly addictive taste. When I had thattufood for the first time, it was like getting a little taste of awesomeness. Oh! It was sheer bliss. So now, every time we go home on vacation, a few visits to our favourite thattukada is a must.

Thattukada-Chicken-Fry-Recipe

Ok now, lets get to the recipe I am going to share today, its that of a delicious Thattukada chicken fry. For this the chicken is marinated in lots of spices, crushed ginger garlic, red chillies and fried in coconut oil. The fried curry leaves adds such a wonderful aroma to the fried chicken. Its soo good. I have been wanting to post this for a long time. I came across this recipe through a forum in Facebook named Kannur food guide. I love that place. Its filled with ardent food lovers. All thanks to Maya Suresh for sharing this amazing recipe. You have made a great greaat contribution by letting us have this recipe. 🙂

Thattukada Chicken Fry

Ingredients
  

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kg Chicken
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder 11/2 tsp of spicy chilly pdr
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1/4 tsp rice powder
  • 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 4 nos Kashmiri dry red chillies crushed
  • 3 tsp crushed ginger garlic
  • Juice of a small lime
  • 2 tbsp crushed curry leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • 3-4 green chillies slit
  • Curry leaves
  • Coconut oil to deep fry

Instructions
 

DIRECTIONS

  • Mix everything with the chicken pieces and marinate it for 2-3 hrs in the refrigerator.
  • Deep fry in coconut oil.
  • Fry a little bit of curry leaves and green chillies separately and garnish.
  • Serve it with Kerala porotta or biryani.

Notes

Notes:
✔️ I crushed the ginger garlic separately in a mortar and pestle. But i pulsed the curry leaves and dry red chillies in a blender just twice.
✔️ The oil shouldn’t be too hot (the chicken wont cook well but the outer part would get the golden color fast) or less hot (the batter will come off the chicken). Try to maintain a medium heat. Don’t fry for too long or else the chicken will become dry.
✔️ How much ever you try, a little of the batter will come out of the chicken and settle at the bottom of the pan. Do take out those bits too and place it on top of the fried chicken. That is the highlight of the dish. It tastes delicious.

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53 thoughts on “Thattukada Chicken Fry

  1. Oh Heavens!! Amazing pics, it just made me go drooling and Im now craving for a bite! :'( Awesome Sadia, I was searching since about a month for an authentic fry recipe and here you are! I will surely try and let you know~~ 🙂 🙂

  2. I really enjoyed reading this post. Your explanation of thattukada was very descriptive and informative. The photos are stunning too!

  3. Amazing recipe and photo’s. There is something about street food, it tastes so good. I used to have a phobia about the cleanliness but one taste and you quickly put that aside This chicken dish is fantastic.

  4. i dont eat meat..but “thattukada” in the title made me read the post:) You brought back some fond memories of kerala thattukada..those poori/masala and puttu/kadala curry memories:)

  5. yummmyyyyyyyyyyyy lookssss sooooooooooooooooooooooooo mouth waterinngggg..seriouslyy i need it now!!!!!!!:(

  6. hey sadia… Loved the pics n recipe.. Tempted…n wanna try… But i hav a query…
    2 tsp of ginger garlic paste n 3tsp of ginger garlic crushed… n u mentioned in ur notes tht u crushed dem in mortar n pestle.. So all in all 5 tsps of ginger garlic crushed?

    1. Hello Saima! Thankyou for the sweet comment. 🙂
      As for the doubt, no you should use 2 tsp of ginger garlic PASTE plus 3tsp of crushed gg. The crushed ones gives you those fried bits which you can see in the pictures. Hop your doubt is cleared. If not, do ask. 🙂 🙂

  7. Food tastes so much better in the sunshine outdoors, smelling the aromas and surrounded by hungry people! I fell in love with the street food in India. This chicken looks so delicious! I love the photos 🙂

  8. Sadia- your food, your pictures, everything looks so so good! I am so glad I came across your blog. Love the variety- just about anything and everything. just how we usually eat at home. xx Aditi

  9. This chicken has gone viral in my family….most of my relatives hav tried it n liked it a lot….n now it’s der in our weekly rotation list of food!!

  10. thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe. Mallu living in Chicago and this is my favorite fried chicken recipe! Even my Caucasian and African American friends can’t get enough of it! Perfectly seasoned, just fantastic!!
    Thank you again!!!

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