Chef Krishna Chaithanya's succulent Malay Chicken is an unsual Indian-ish take on a Southeast Asian chicken curry -- the gravy is flavoured with peanuts and basil but is spicy and tangy too.

It can be had by itself as a starter or with steamed rice or naans or even dosas.

Chef Chaithanya graduated from the Culinary Academy of India, Hyderabad, and worked in Hyderabad at the Taj and Barbecue Nation. He spent nearly four years brushing up his skills for cooking Asian food in Bangkok at two different restaurants.

Malay Chicken

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 500 gm chicken breasts, boneless
• Oil for deep frying the chicken

For the peanut sauce

• 75 gm peanuts, roasted and skinned
• 30 gm vinegar
• 45 gm soy sauce
• 9 gm castor sugar (a kind of finer sugar manufactured by top baking brands), optional
• 9 gm extra virgin olive oil
• 20 gm red chilly paste
• 30 gm onion
• 12 gm ginger
• 30 ml lemon juice
• Generous pinch lemon zest or grated lemon peel
• 6 gm sonf or fennel powder
• 20 gm garlic
• 15 gm green chilly
• 2-3 large fresh basil leaves

For the chicken marinade

• 30 gm ginger-garlic paste
• 30 gm red chilly paste
• 15 gm kala namak or black salt
• 6 gm chaat masala
• 30 gm Greek yoghurt
• 9 gm jeera or cumin powder
• 6 gm garam masala
• 15 ml rai or mustard oil

For the crumbing mix

• 75 gm corn flour
• 45 gm rice flour
• 45 gm breadcrumbs

For the garnish

• Toasted peanuts, roughly crushed
• Green dhania or coriander or cilantro, chopped
• Beetroot microgreens
• Extra virgin olive oil

Method

For the peanut sauce or gravy

• In a blender, combine all the ingredients until smooth.
  Strain the mixture through a sieve to get a fine paste.
  In a saucepan warm the pureed gravy till it loses its raw edge.
  Keep aside.

For the chicken marinade

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix.
  Keep aside but keep warm.

For the crumbing mix

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
  Keep aside.

For the chicken

• Cut the chicken into thin strips.
  Add it to the marinade and let it rest for 30 minutes. 
  Remove the individual strips, beat it with mallet to flatten it and then roll in the crumbing mix and roll up.
• Heat oil in a deep kadhai over medium-high heat.
  Fry the chicken strip rolls, in batches of 3-4, till golden brown on both sides.
  Keep flipping till evenly fried.
  Drain onto a tissue or paper-towel lined plate.

For the plating

• Take a deep plate (like a pasta plate) or a bowl and add the warm/hot peanut sauce at the bottom.
  Place the fried chicken strips on it.
  Sprinkle the toasted peanuts and the chopped coriander.
  Garnish with the beetroot microgreens and drizzle with olive oil.
  Serve hot with steamed rice.

Krishna Chaithanya is the Sous Chef at Nuvo, Sheraton Grand Pune.

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