Recipe- Andhra Style Chicken Majestic

I first tasted and even heard about Chicken Majestic at a friend’s place where she served it as a starter. It tasted amazing and the highlight was how tender the chicken pieces were. Chicken Majestic is apparently a very popular starter with chicken particularly well known in Andhra. Although I lived in Hyderabad for a couple of years, I had never come across this particular dish, what a shame. While Chilli Chicken will always remain a personal favourite chicken starter, chicken majestic is a great variation and a welcome change from the usual dishes like chilli chicken or South Indian chicken 65.

Ingredients

200 gm of chicken breast, cut into long strips
2 tsp of coriander powder
2 tbsp of corn flour
½ tsp of cumin powder
¼ cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1.5 tsp of ginger garlic paste
3-4 green chillies
1 tsp of soya sauce
A fistful of curry leaves
1 small bunch of mint leaves (I didn't have any)
1 tsp + 1 tbsp of oil
3 tbsp of plain yogurt / curd
2 tsp of minced garlic
¼ tsp of turmeric powder

Method

- Marinate the chicken pieces in buttermilk and salt for 4 hours. Leave it in the refrigerator while you marinate.

- To the same bowl, add the egg, corn flour, ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp oil and leave it to marinate for another hour.

- When ready to cook, heat the 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces. Saute until the pieces brown nicely and get fried. The original recipe calls for deep frying but I found sautéing is quite effective too since the chicken is very tender after marinating.

- After the chicken is browned and fried, drain and set aside.

- In the same pan, add the minced garlic and green chillies. Saute until lightly browned and add the curry leaves and mint leaves, if using.

- When the curry leaves are wilted, add all the masala powders - chilli powder, coriander, jeera, and turmeric.

- Saute for 5 seconds without burning and add the plain curd. Stir around quickly and add soya sauce and the fried chicken pieces. Mix well until the ingredients are well coated.

- Keep sauteing until the chicken is cooked fully and the masala turns a lovely brown.

- ServeChicken Majestic as a starter or with rice and some sides.