It’s always nice to cook something at home that resembles dishes made in professional kitchens, that’s exactly what I had in mind when I cooked up Afelia’s Desi Chicken Sizzler one evening. I love eating food that comes out of the kitchen sizzling on a hotplate when I eat out, not only does it taste great, but the food stays nice and hot too! Most of these dishes also tend to have a dry consistency and yet are bursting with flavour and I really hope this dish delivers exactly that. I’ve only cooked this dish once before (prior to sharing it here) so there may be room for improvement but it tastes awesome as is and I couldn’t wait to share it with you!

One of the key factors to achieving the right depth of flavour for this dish is to sear the chicken and let the outside caramelise quickly, to do this you preferably want to use a cast iron pan; other than being great for searing meats, it’s solid iron which means it can be used on the stove top and also bunged into the oven without any issues.

Cast iron pans may be ideal, however please BE CAREFUL as they are EXTREMELY HOT when removed from the oven and remain hot for a long time afterwards – whilst this helps keep your food warm, it also means you have to be careful around young children as they can easily scald themselves if they come into contact with a hot pan. Alternatively, sear the drumsticks using a frying pan of your choice and transfer to a roasting tray when you want to cook them in the oven, and then back into the frying pan again, it may not have exactly the same effect but will suffice.

I’ve used chicken drumsticks and kept the skin on because A) I love meat on the bone and B) I love skin as it adds flavour and helps keep the meat from drying out too much, use drumsticks with the skin removed if you prefer. Perfect with sides of rice and salad, chips and salad or even a bulgar salad, my Desi Chicken Sizzler is like having barbecued meat, only cooked indoors! I’m sure this recipe would work equally well with lamb too, although I would advise adding some sort of meat tenderiser to the marinade to help soften the lamb, which can be tough if not cooked for long enough.

This dish is fairly spicy, but as always you can leave out the chilli components of the dish to achieve a milder dish. The recipe is very straightforward and should result in a delicious dish that can be enjoyed by both young and old; it has Desi spices to give it warmth (tandoori and garam masala) and has other elements (English mustard and honey) to give it that je nais se quoi, which hopefully make it something more than just another Indian dish. Here’s hoping that Afelia’s Desi Chicken Sizzler causes a sizzle at suppertime!

Serves 6 – 8

You will need: for Afelia’s Desi Chicken Sizzler

1 – 1.5kg chicken drumsticks (preferably with skin on)
3 tsp tandoori masala (I use Rajah brand)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp English mustard
1 tbsp lemon juice
oil (as needed)
2 medium onions (use 1 if you don’t like onions as much)
3 jalapenos
1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
coriander to garnish

Method:

Jalapenos for this recipe are optional but add a nice aroma and texture to the dish, I also added 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, again this is entirely optional but adds a nice kick to the dish.

Measuring your spices beforehand is also a good idea (before your hands get mucky); measure 3 tsp of tandoori masala, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp chilli powder (use less if you don’t want it very spicy) and 1.5 tsp salt.

Make sure you wash and drain the chicken drumsticks thoroughly, remove any fine hairs too.

Add the spices; 3 tsp tandoori masala, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp chilli powder (adjust to taste) and 1.5 tsp salt.

Next add 2 tbsp honey….

….2 tbsp English mustard and 1 tbsp lemon juice. If you plan on using drumsticks with the skin removed, I would also add 2 – 3 tbsp of oil as the skin provides much need fat when the dish cooks in the oven.

Mix everything by hand and leave to one side.

Heat a good amount of oil in a wide frying pan till almost smoking.

Once hot, add in the drumsticks and fry for a few minutes, the chicken should sear immediately on contact.

Once you have a browned the drumsticks on one side, turn over and do the same to the other side. You don’t want to cook the inside of the drumsticks, we merely want colour and flavour.

It’s a good idea to preheat your oven to gas mark 6 at this point as we will be placing the drumsticks into a hot oven to cook immediately after searing.

Whilst the chicken sears in the pan prep the remaining ingredients. Peel and slice 2 onions (you may use 1 onion if you don’t like them as much as we do), slice the jalapenos and the scotch bonnet pepper (if you are using this).

If your drumsticks don’t all fit into the pan at once, you can fry them in batches, add a splash more oil if needed (bottom right photo).

Once all the pieces are seared place them into the pan (make sure it doesn’t have any parts that will melt in the oven) or alternatively place them on a baking tray and cook for 20 mins at gas mark 6. This will cook the drumsticks through completely.

After 20 minutes CAREFULLY remove the pan from the oven and place back on the stove top (if you used a baking tray place the drumsticks and any juice back into the pan), there will be a lot of chicken juice that needs to evaporate to create a slightly sticky sauce.

Add the chunky sliced onions, scotch bonnet pepper….

….and sliced jalapenos to the pan and cook over a high heat till the onions are slightly cooked but have a crunch to them. Add additional salt if you feel you need it.

Finally garnish with coriander before serving and serve immediately with your favourite rice or chips!

Bon Appetit!

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