When I think lemon chicken, I think plain chicken breast, grilled, with too much acid squeezed over it. Then I think cornstarch-thickened sweet gloopy Chinese sauce with a tiny bit of soy and lots of MSG on deep-fried or shallow-fried chunks of whatever piece of chicken was the cheapest. Both are…fine. Well, they can range from “complete garbage that should never be ingested” to “pretty good.” And sometimes you’re craving complete junk.
This lemon chicken recipe, however, pushes the lemon chicken range up a good deal. It’s one of the easiest recipes in “My Indian Kitchen” by Hari Nayak and it’s actually called “Pepper Chicken” because of the reliance on freshly crushed black peppercorns for flavour. But in the same way that lemon overpowers the dishes above, this recipe relies on the acid to elevate the relatively simple spicing.
…And I slow-cooked it, just to make sure the chicken was succulent
…And I used really good quality meat that actually tastes like chicken, not like “chew”
The only change to the recipe besides slow-cooking instead of pot cooking (you can still get really succulent meat by cooking on the stove, don’t worry), was using an entire chicken chopped into 8 pieces – so whole drumsticks, half breasts, and bone-in for flavour. This works better in a slow-cooker since the pieces aren’t all the same size, but they still cook fairly evenly at the low temperature. Even the breasts don’t dry out if you lay them on the bottom of the slow cooker and the rest of the fattier chicken pieces on top. Of course, skin removed since it’ll just get soggy and make the sauce overly fatty if you don’t. Get your butcher to do it for you if you’re no good at it. Or just buy a bunch of skinless, boneless chicken pieces and feel a little bad about the other parts of the chicken that maybe got wasted by the grocery store. Maybe not. You never know.
1 whole chicken, skinned and cut into 8 pieces (or 2 lbs sinless chicken drumsticks of thighs. Boneless or bone-in, but boneless makes the whole thing easier to work with. Bone-in makes it more delicious)
1/2 cup almond milk (or yogurt)
1″ cube fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cayenne or Asian chili powder (this is NOT Mexican chili powder, so use cayenne if you don’t know what you have)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp high-heat oil (sunflower, grapeseed, vegetable, canola if you have to)
6 tbsp black peppercorns(!), ground. If you have a pepper grinder, grind about 4-5 tbsp of pepper, depending on how much you like to sneeze
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tsp garam masala*
Directions
Combine the chicken through the salt and let marinate in the fridge in a large bowl for at least 2 hours (overnight is even better). This is why it’s nice to use boneless, since a large bowl doesn’t really accommodate all those chicken pieces easily. I’m a big fan of using a large plastic, resealable bag if the chicken will fit. Otherwise, you’ll want to think about turning the chicken pieces very now and then so the marinade sinks in everywhere.
After the marinating time is up (or you’re starving) heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot add the chicken pieces (without the marinade) and brown on all sides for about 10-15 minutes. It’ll be longer with large chicken pieces and you may want to do this in batches. Don’t stuff all the pieces in at once if they don’t want to fit, or they won’t brown well. Transfer the browned chicken to the slow cooker as each batch is done. Or remove them to a bowl and then add them all back to the pot when they’re all browned.
Add the lemon juice, black pepper, garam masala, and cilantro (minus the 2 tbsp you’ll reserve for garnish) to the chicken (whether it’s in the slow-cooker or in the pot and set the slow-cooker to high for 4 hours. Or add 1/2 cup water to the chicken, cover, bring to a simmer, and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes or more for large pieces (for small pieces of chicken or just drumsticks, don’t add any water to the pot – just reduce the heat to low immediately when you add the lemon juice and cook 5 minutes. Don’t bother covering the pot either). Use a meat thermometre to check to make sure the chicken is done. You want the temperature to reach 170F when you insert it in the thickest part of the chicken. Garnish with cilantro and serve with Basmati rice and something green.
Garam Masala
2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
2 tbsp whole cumin seeds
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 one-inch cinnamon stick
10 green cardamom cloves
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
5 bay leaves
Place spices in dry skillet and roast over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until aromatic. Remove spices to a bowl and let cool. When cool, grind spices in a spice grinder, a coffee grinder, a mortar and pestle, or in a plastic bag with a heavy saucepan or mallet (remove air from bag and hold end closed). Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks.
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