Kids’ Favorites : Crispy Baked Crumb Chicken : Finger-licking Good!! :)

And I’m back again today with another quick and tasty dish which is sure to be on your menu every week starting today. I have been happy these past few days. The reason being my sister and her two lovely kids are in India on vacation and will be coming to Bangalore in a few days. (her hubby couldn’t make it though, “we miss you terribly Acha”) We haven’t met in almost four years!!! I am thrilled. I am just looking forward to getting together and chilling out as a family.

Today’s post is dedicated to them. “This one’s for you Sharon, Sam and Josh. And Chitta is so making this for you Sam and Josh. You sure are going to love it.”

Moving on to the recipe, this is one dish I haven been wanting to share with all of you for so long. A classic example of how junk can be made healthy too!

Crispy Fried Chicken – a classic kids’ favorite. We have all had it at some point of our lives. (leave alone my vegetarian friends of course) So many fast food chains sell these like hotcakes. However what I do not like is all that oil that goes into deep frying. And also these frozen stuff coated in something that is supposed to be breadcrumbs. There certainly is a way to optimize this favorite to a healthier meal. So how did I do that? I BAKED the crumb coated chicken! And the end-result is soft, succulent, flavorful chicken with a lovely golden and crunchy coating on the outside. Yes my friends say good-bye to deep frying and a warm welcome to baking good old crispy chicken! Served with a side of freshly prepared coleslaw, oh this meal is heavenly!!! This recipe is a tweaked version of my good friend's Southern Fried Chicken which is a delicious crispy fried chicken dish. I have made it a healthier dish which can be made very often for the whole family and also have used different herbs and spices to suit our palate.

So, as the season is just perfect to munch away on some crispy chicken I leave you with this amazing recipe of juicy, flavorful and crunchy chicken which is baked and is finger-licking good! Sooooo Good!!! Your kids will absolutely love this dish. My one and a half year old daughter devours this in minutes. :) Enjoy

Ingredients

800 grams Chicken (on the bone); cut into medium size pieces

2 Eggs

3 tablespoons of Milk

Refined oil

Ingredients for the Dry Spice Rub

1 tablespoon Paprika or Kashmiri Chili powder (adjust as per spice tolerance)

1 teaspoon Cracked Pepper (adjust as per spice tolerance)

1 tablespoon Garlic powder or 6 to 7 cloves of freshly crushed Garlic

1 tablespoon Onion powder (optional)

Salt; to taste

Ingredients for the Seasoned Crumbs

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of Plain Flour

1 cup Breadcrumbs

1 cup Corn Flakes; coarsely crushed

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of Garlic powder (if you don’t have garlic powder leave out this ingredient)

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of Onion powder (optional)

1 tablespoon Paprika or Kashmiri Chili powder (add more if you like it nice and spicy)

1 teaspoon Pepper (adjust as per spice tolerance)

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of Dried Rosemary

Salt; to taste

Method

Wash and clean the chicken and pat dry with a kitchen towel to absorb all moisture. Make deep gashes on each piece and marinate it with the ingredients listed under “Ingredients for the Dry Spice Rub”. Keep aside for at least an hour.

Take a large mixing bowl and mix together all ingredients listed under “Ingredients for the Seasoned Crumbs”. Make sure to mix through well so that all the ingredients are combined evenly. Keep aside.

Take another bowl and beat together the eggs and milk. Keep aside.

Preheat oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Drench the marinated chicken pieces one by one in the egg and milk mixture and coat well with seasoned crumb mix. Give it a little pat and a shake to hold the crust together and repeat the same procedure (dipping and coating with seasoned crumb mix) a second time. Arrange the crumb coated chicken pieces on a greased baking tray.

Drizzle a little oil on each piece of chicken and bake in the oven. Bake for five to seven minutes at 200 degree Celsius and then turn down the heat back to 180 degree Celsius and bake for fifteen minutes.

After fifteen minutes, take out the baking tray with the chicken and drizzle some more oil on each piece. This step is crucial to avoid drying of the chicken. It helps to keep the chicken moist and succulent. Once some more oil has gone onto each piece of chicken, place the tray back in the oven and bake till you get a nice golden crispy crust on the outside and the meat is juicy and cooked through.

Serve this Crispy Baked Crumb Chicken which has rested for a minute or two with some deliciously Creamy Cabbage and Carrot Coleslaw.

Recipe adapted from : The Perfect Southern Fried Chicken by Amritha Shivakumar of Cucumbertown