Easy crispy chicken strips with a spicy twist

Are you bored of the everyday chicken dishes that struggle to satisfy your hunger cravings? If so, why not give this mouthwatering chilli chicken a try.

It will take you no time at all to whip up the marinade and it can even be done the night before to save you time in the kitchen on the day, which is particularly handy if you’re cooking the meal after a long day at work or caring for the grandkids.

This tasty dish also cuts down on the calories by baking the chicken pieces to perfection in the oven rather than frying them in unnecessary amounts of oil. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• Marinade
• Large knob fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 2-4 green chillies, cut in half with the stalk, seeds and membranes removed
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp oil
  Chicken
• 800g chicken pieces, skinned and pricked all over with a fork
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 4 slices white bread, processed to crumbs in a food processor
• 1-2 large free-range eggs, beaten

Method

1. For marinade, combine all marinade ingredients in pestle and mortar. Mix well to create paste. Add chicken and coat each piece generously in paste. Cover with cling film and leave for a few hours or overnight in fridge. Bring back to room temperature before continuing.
2. Preheat oven to 225C. Pour oil into roasting pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces in one layer. Place pan on a high shelf in the oven for 15 minutes to heat up. Mix salt, black pepper and cumin into breadcrumbs. Take chicken out of marinade, allow excess to drip off. Roll each piece in crumbs ensuring an even coating on all sides.
3. Dip chicken pieces into beaten egg and add second coating of crumbs. Place on baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes. Then lower the oven to 200C, turn chicken and cook for another 15-25 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve with dipping sauce.