Southern Chicken Fry

Instructions

1. Wash, clean and cut chicken into bite size. Mix the chicken well with all the ingredients for the marinate. Cover and keep aside for 1 to 2 hrs.
2. Take the marinated chicken and add the rice flour and the gram flour to it. Mix together thoroughly so that all the chicken pieces are well covered with both the flour.
3. In a heavy bottom pan or wok heat 2 -tbsp oil. When oil is hot shallow fry the marinated chicken pieces in batches over medium low flame. Cover and cook with a little time and patience. Take off and keep aside.
4. Cut the dried whole red chillies into half and de-seed them. In the same pan or any different one if you like, heat the remaining oil. Once hot add the cinnamon sticks, fennel seed, red chillies and most of the curry leaves. Keep some of the curry leaves aside for garnishing later on. Reduce flame to a medium, stir for a bit before the chopped garlic, ginger and all of the onion (that was cut into rings). Keep sautéing for another few minutes before adding the shallow fried chicken pieces.
5. Turning the flame back to a medium high, keep on stirring constantly. As the chicken is already cooked while shallow frying, you need not cook for too long, else the masala will stick to the bottom of the pan and will have a tendency to get burnt. Sprinkle a palm full of water in case the masala actually starts sticking to the bottom of the pan or wok.
6. Before taking off from heat sprinkle the lime juice and some fresh curry leaves. Serve hot accompanied by rotis, appams or parathas.