In our home, we love having our chicken. And we prepare it real good. There are no two ways about having chicken in our home, it always has both perfectly marinated and perfectly seasoned.And I must admit, it is always really good. There are many chicken recipes out there, and this one has been in our family for years. It was formulated by my mom and slightly modified by us through the years and passed down the family. It is crazy good!!
From my heart to yours, I hope this family recipe brings much delight and joy to your dinner table as it did to my family through out the years 🙂
Prep Time:6 Hours Cook Time: 30 Minutes Serves: 8
Ingredients
2 whole chicken- cut into pieces
1 whole garlic- minced
1 handful of fresh/dried rosemary
Salt to taste
½ a cup of apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
5 tablespoons of Royco all-spice mix
1 packet of Shalimar Indian Spice blend
1 tablespoon of black pepper
Finely chopped fresh coriander
Oil for frying
Method
Chop your chicken into pieces and put them in a small basin/ bowl. Add your minced garlic, rosemary, apple cider vinegar and salt. Mix it all up and allow this to marinate for not less than six hours. Remember, the longer the marination, the more intense the flavors.
After the marination is over, pour all the contents of the bowl/basin into a sufuria and allow the chicken to boil. Do not add water as this will dilute the marinade. As the chicken is boiling prepare the 3 spice dip, which will have the spices (royco, Shalimar, black pepper) that will season the chicken. The dip should be thick so that it forms a good coating on the marinated chicken. To achieve the right thickness, mix these with some water, adding bit by bit so that it does not become too dilute/light. The shalimar has some whole seeds e.g. cumin, cloves etc. When they cling onto the chicken while dipping, do not shake them off. They make the eating experiece even more better.
I bought my shalimar Indian spice blend from Nakumatt City Hall, and I have also see them in other retail supermarkets. It costs around sh.95 (approx. $1.00), so you really have no excuse for not buying it coz its pretty affordable :).
After the chicken has boiled, drain any excess liquid and dip the pieces into the spice mix and set aside for frying.
The dip not only adds flavor, but it also adds color which makes the chicken more appealing. This is evident below where the unseasoned chicken is bland, while the chicken that has been dipped has a deeper color and already looks too tasty even before frying.
Heat your vegetable oil really hot and deep fry your chicken until they are golden brown. Add your coriander immediately they come from the heat.
Ensure your coriander is finely chopped so that it clings really well to your fried chicken.
Serve and enjoy 🙂
Do not shy away from spices. Making something outstanding is never that difficult. Like this recipe, all that is required is a bit of effort, some open-mindedness and lots of love and you will have created something no one will ever forget.
Don’t you just wanna sink your teeth into this chicken??
Bless your family with my family favorite :). (Also, check out my kuku kienyeji stew recipe HERE)
XX
-KALUHI
Surprise your taste buds and give this a try:
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Hey there! My name is Kaluhi and I love food! Through my blog, I am happy to share with you my self-taught recipes, steeped in nostalgia and the happiest of memories. I hope each recipe you try out is as addictive as the previous one and is shared on a table full of love and hearty laughs!
Hi..thank you for your posts! I love coming here for ideas of what to cook. .question: what can I substitute for the shalimar indian spice..I’m away from home so I don’t think I can get that here..want to try out that chicken..it looks so delish!
Hey Linda,
Glad to have you as a reader. For shalimar Indian spice, you can substitute that with any Indian spice mix or an Italian spice mix. You can also grind the following spices: whole cumin, whole cloves, whole black pepper, whole cinnamon in the ratio of 3:1:3:2. Another choice would be to use just black pepper and royco for your coating.
I highly recommend the last option since it is the easiest plus I have tried it before and the chicken is just as tasty. Let me know how it all goes when you try this.
So I’m going to binge read from this point to where you are!! Wish me luck!! It’s been way too long!!
Binge readers aremy fave readers :D. Karibu tena!
i am a great fun!!!! and i looove the kitchen and i loooove trying out new recipes.
however, i have noticed you do not specify what amount of cooking oil you use for various dishes, could you kindly specify for example in this recipe did you deep or shallow fry?
fan!
Hey Joy!
I am so glad you enjoy my recipes! :))))
For this dish it is deep frying, and I wrote that in the sentence above the coriander image :). For deep frying I cannot specify the amount of oil to use. That will be up to you to use your own judgement and decide how much oil you will need to use depending on your chicken.
Same applies to other recipes. If I am frying onions for example, I cannot specify the amount of oil to use since this same amount will always vary from person to person. So, It is up to you, dear reader, to decide how much oil you need.
By the way, when it comes to cooking, not everything needs a strict amount. Most of the time, clear judgment of your situation will guide you. Do not over think, just ask yourself how much oil you will need and use that.
xx
This chicken looks amazing. I sometimes substitute coriander for chives to make the taste a little different. You’re an amazing person Kaluhi. Thank you for blessing the world with great recipes.
Chives are heaven sent for real!!!!!!They make a world of difference! I am glad you love my recipes <3
hi jst found out something this interesting exists ….wow i love ur blog ..the pics , the recipes as in everything is WOW…grt work gal n one question chives wat are they?
Let me explain in kiswahili/sheng: Unaona ukiwacha kitunguu sana kwa kabati alafu inaanza kumea leaves za green konda? Hizo ndio chives.
I was binge reading and I died right here . I am dead !
Rest in eternal deliciousness!!!!!!
Hey Kaluhi I think chives are a whole different plant. They are in the same family with the common onion and they look almost the same but they are not the same plant. Thank you
Ok thanks
Heey gal,
I love your blog.
I have a question; What amount of Shalimar Indian spice did you use?
I used the entire packet because I had alot of chicken to prepare. Do not overthink quantities :)), just run with it.
Hi. Which type of chicken did you use for the recipe? Broiler ama kienyeji?Thinking of trying this tomorrow
Broiler. Kienyeji cannot yield the same results
I rarely fry chicken. But I was tired of grilling and stewing it up so I figured deep frying it was long overdue. Didn’t have access to the Indian spice so I replaced it with Tandoori, garam masala and Rocyo just to keep in step with three spices. The marination lasted a little over 24 hours without the rosemary.
I followed everything else to a tee.This recipe is gold.
Oh and I forgot – used light soy sauce to mix the spices instead of water. Was feeling a little extra
Extra is always a good gesture 😉 😉
Glad you enjoyed this, Wambui!!!! It is a family favorite ant thrilled you loved it as well <3 <3 And how dope is it that you added your own twist!!! **happy dance**
Royco all spice is any Royco or? A little bit lost
Any royco
Nice, I’m going to make this tonight so that I can deep fry tomorrow.
Lovely 🙂
Hope you loved it!!!
Hi wow it’s so unbelievable I love that am going to try that tomorrow….
Utapenda