Chicken Manchurian

A friend was coming to dinner tonight and all I knew was that I would make chicken. Because that’s the one thing I had in the freezer in sufficient quantity. Also I wasn’t in the mood for fancy elaborate cooking in the middle of the week so I was trying to figure out what chicken dish to prepare. The battle was between chicken 65 and chicken Manchurian and Manchurian won because it opened up a whole bunch of student day memories.
There was this tiny Chinese eatery called Gunjan on Surya Sen Street (near College Street, Kolkata) which we used to frequent during our college and university days. People came to know of this place by word of mouth – the fame of Gunjan travelled from seniors to juniors and it thrived on that tradition. The place could hardly seat ten people at a time. I remember the first time we tried to go there we couldn’t find it because it was just around the corner of a lane so narrow that a car couldn’t go in, and we actually ended up eating at a place which was next to it but on the main road. During our college days birthdays and special occasions were celebrated at Gunjan when side dishes like Chili Chicken and Chicken Manchurian were ordered. Otherwise the favorite was Chicken Hakka Chowmein. Once our group of 12 (yes, we did manage to squeeze ourselves in) got kicked out of the place because people were waiting outside and we didn’t show any signs of leaving even though we were all done.
And during my Masters’ I and a friend AB, who’s a great foodie, frequented Gunjan so much that we ran out of money by the second week of the month. (It was a bit on the costlier side for a student.) That was when we made a vow that we would come to Gunjan twice a month. We did manage to stick to the self made rule for a few months, mainly because by that time another cheaper Chinese shack had opened up right in the University premises.
Now for my version of Chicken Manchurian. I used drumsticks because that’s what I had. Ideally small bite sized pieces (breast or thighs are best) should be used.

Ingredients:
Chicken drumsticks – 8 pieces
Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Ginger paste – 1 ½ tsp + 1tsp
Garlic paste – 1 tsp + 1tsp
Hot sauce – 2 tbsp
Salt & pepper – to taste
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Onion – 1 small (cut into thick slices)
Green bell pepper – ½ (cut into big pieces)
Red bell pepper – ½ (cut into big pieces) (either one of these peppers is fine)
Scallions – 2-3 (cut diagonally)
Green chilies – 3-4 (chopped)

Procedure:
In a large mixing bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, salt, pepper, 1 ½ tsp of ginger paste and 1 tsp garlic paste. Now coat the drumsticks/ chicken pieces in the marinade and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

After an hour remove the chicken from the marinade and dust it with a tbsp of cornflour.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces on medium heat until golden brown and cooked. Set aside.
In the same pan fry the sliced onions, bell pepper and scallions and set aside.

Now add the chopped green chilies, a tbsp of the ginger paste and garlic paste and fry until the raw smell is gone.

Add the reserved marinade, water and bring to a boil. Adjust seasoning.

Add the chicken pieces and let simmer until the gravy reaches a consistency of your desire. If there is too much liquid add a paste of a tbsp of cornflour in a tbsp of water and let the liquid dry up.

About a minute or two before removing from the heat add the fried vegetables to the pan and let them sit. This way they retain their color as well as their crunch which I like.

Serve hot with fried rice or noodles.