Botifry - The Food & Health Blog

Chilli Chicken from India Health Recipes (Indo-Chinese)

This post about Chilli Chicken Recipe in Indian Health Recipes blog is what made me to show more interest in cooking. If you are in a hurry to prepare tasty chilli chicken, head to the end of this post and find the URL to the original recipe post.

Many a times, while trying out the recipes on the internet, we will not have the exact ingredients or utensils as shown in the post of video. All we have to do try to arrange maximum required ingredients and trying the same recipe until perfection.

Luckily, for the chilli chicken recipe, we had almost all the ingredients except spring onions and celery. We tried the recipe without these two items and it did came out well.

The ingredients provided in the post was for ¼ kg of chicken and I had to multiply the quantity into 4 as I prepared 1 kg chicken. Moreover, I tried this recipe with medium size chicken pieces with bones whereas the original recipe suggests small size boneless chicken. Restaurants serve boneless chilli chicken isn’t it?

Ingredients for Chilli Chicken (250 grams)

Oil for deep frying (of course a frying pan is required)

Marinate

250 grams boneless chicken (I tried with bones)

1½ tsp chilli sauce

1½ tsp soya sauce

¼ tsp pepper powder

2-3 tbsp. corn flour

2-3 tbsp. plain flour or maida (this is to get restaurant syle)

¼ tsp red chilli powder (be careful with this ingredient)

Salt to taste (I always ended up putting less salt)

Seasoning

1½ tsp soya sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce (I prepare red chilli sauce)
½ tsp red chilli powder (how about paprika?)
¼ tsp pepper powder (optional, but tastes good)
¾ to 1 tsp vinegar
½ tsp sugar (do not miss this)

Vegetables

Vegetables for 1 kg chicken

1 medium onion thinly sliced or cubed (I tried both the ways)
2 tsp garlic chopped (consider 1-2 cloves, finely chopped)
¼ to ½ cup cubed bell pepper (capsicum) – I used one full capsicum for preparing 1kg.
1 – 2 green chillies slip & deseeded
1 sprig of spring onion chopped (optional, thank god)
4 – 5 leaves of celery finely chopped (optional again)
Spring onions to garnish

Now the method

I have tried this recipe many a times, with different types of chicken. I am used buying chicken from Tender Chicken (Bengaluru) outlets. They are very tender and easy to cook.

On the other hand, chicken sold in regular outlets are usually overgrown and hard. I do brine these types of chicken for more than five hours.

Marinate the chicken

Wash the chicken thoroughly and place it in a bowl. Add chilli sauce, soya sauce, pepper powder and mix it well. Leave it aside for an hour or two.

After marinating

Add corn flour, plain flour (Maida-optional), salt and mix it well. Add chilli powder and break one egg into it and mix well (the recipe says egg as optional).

Add chilli powder or paprika powder and mix well (this one is also optional).

Note: If you are adding water instead of egg, ensure you do not add too much of it. After mixing the above ingredients, the mix should be absolutely without water.

Frying the chicken

Shallow Frying the Chicken

Pour the required oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken. You may shallow fry or deep-fry it, until they turn golden.

Preparing the sauce for seasoning

Add soya sauce, vinegar, red chilli powder, chilli sauce, sugar, pepper powder (optional) to a bowl, and mix well.

Fry the vegetables

Add 2 tsp cooking oil to the pan. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add onions, green chillies, spring onions, celery and capsicum. Fry until they become slightly tender (they should still be crunchy).

Add the prepared sauce and allow it to bubble.

Add chicken and mill. Fry on high flame for 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

This is my favorite recipe from Indian Health Recipes. Keep trying until you perfect it.

Many of us suffer from sleep disorders and resort to pills for that good night sleep. Most of the time our sufferings are due to our lifestyle. Changing our lifestyle a bit will help us to escape from so many other mental and physical problems. Here is few tips to have a good sleep that I came across Bangalore Mirror.

The five foods you should eat before bed

1. Bananas

Bananas are affordable and available almost everywhere. They are rich in magnesium that relaxes muscles. They contain serotonin and melatonin that encourages sleeping.

2. Almonds

Almonds are good source of healthy fats. Tryptophan and magnesium in almonds help naturally reduce muscle and nerve function while steadying the heart rhythm.

3. Honey

A teaspoon of honey is enough to stimulate the release of melatonin in the brain and shut of orexin that keeps us alert and thus helping to wind down.

4. Oats

Oats are rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids that promote sleep-inducing melatonin. Oats encourages insulin production and naturally raise blood sugar.

5. Turkey

Turkey is something which we never prepare regularly and is not available everywhere. Just of information sake, this protein rich food that makes you full is also good for sleep.

While the above five foods promote good sleep, let us see what should be avoided before hitting the bed.

Things to avoid before hitting bed

1. Alcohol

I know many of them you consume alcohol just to get a good sleep. In reality, alcohol will never help falling into deep sleep.

2. Cheese

Pizzas, sandwich, any other food you like with cheese? Cheese contains high levels of the amino acid tyramine that makes the brain feel more alert. Cheese is not a good choice before bed even otherwise.

3. Spicy Food

Spicy foods does not help to have a good sleep. The chilli peppers contain capsaicin that makes it harder for your body to regulate temperature resulting in a less peaceful night’s sleep.

4. Fatty Food

Fatty foods are hard to digest, they cause heartburn and it will be nightmarish after you hit the bed.

5. Coffee

Coffee, tea and other caffeinated drinks will never help you to get into sleep. These beverages refreshes you so instantly that you will become active for many hours.

Credits: Bangalore Mirror