Crunchy Delights: The chicken pakora created by Kundan Lal Gujral and served at Moti Mahal Deluxe in

Greater Kailash is every Punjabi’s idea of heaven and is legendary in Delhi foodie circles. There is,
however, an Indian version of fried chicken. When Arun Jaitley was minister for Law and Commerce in
the NDA government, he launched Monish Gujral’s Moti Mahal’s Tandoori Trail recipe book and said
that he had been invited to the event not because he was a minister but because he was a fan of Moti
Mahal and its chicken pakora in particular.

Chicken pakora at home

Ingredients

Chicken, cut into 8 pcs (750 gm)

Lemon juice - 1tbsp / 15ml

Ginger-garlic paste - 1tbsp / 6gm

Salt to taste

Red chilli - 1tsp

For the batter

Egg - 1

Gram flour - 5tbsp / 50gm

Refined flour - 1tbsp / 15gm

Salt - 1tsp

Black pepper - 1tsp

Refined oil for deep frying

Chaat masala - ½ tsp, to sprinkle on the chicken pakora

Method

Make deep incisions into the chicken pieces

Marinate the chicken with lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, salt and red chilli powder for about 30
minutes
For the batter:

Mix all the ingredients in a blender

Heat oil in a wok, dip the marinated chicken in the batter and lower gently in the hot oil

Deep fry on medium heat till light brown

Remove with a slotted spoon, prick each piece with a fork and keep aside for 10 minutes

Fry the pieces again till golden brown

Remove and drain excess oil on absorbent paper towels

Sprinkle chaat masala before serving. Serve hot with mint chutney