Recipe for Chicken leg pepper fry made with chicken drumsticks. Chicken is cooked and roasted in a masala gravy. Finally black pepper is added and roasted for a spicy peppery flavour. Recipe with step by step pictures.
We had this awesome pepper roast made by Vinodh’s sister, Shreevidya recently. She totally aced it!!! We loved the chicken pepper fry. So here it is. Even though this recipe is from her mother in law, Radha akka, to us it is Shreevidya’s recipe. The pepper flavour along with the roasted masala makes it lipsmacking… Do try it at home. I have slightly modified the recipe but mostly its the same.
Here is how to do Chicken Leg Pepper Fry
Cut the chicken legs / chicken drumsticks in 3-4 places with a knife. Make deep slashes so the masalas gets evenly coated until deep. Set aside.
Now we will make a masala paste for the chicken pepper fry.
Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the dry red chillies, cumin seeds and black pepper. Saute on a medium flame for a minute.
Add in the sliced small onions (Indian shallots), garlic and ginger. I like to slice the small onions as the onions develop a nice flavour when nicely roasted. It cooks a lot faster if sliced. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add in the salt, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Transfer the ingredients from the pan to a small mixie jar. Take the empty pan and set on heat again. Do you see those brown bits sticking to the pan? Those are flavor bombs. De-glaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of water and allowing it to boil for a couple of minutes. Scrape the pan while boiling to remove off all the caramelized bits.
Add in the de-glazed liquid from the pan to the mixie jar. Grind everything to a very smooth paste. Set aside.
I like to use a heavy duty Indian mixie for grinding masalas and it does the job! Here is my preferred mixie.
For cooking the Gravy
Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pressure pan and add in the curry leaves and a sliced onion. Saute for a couple of minutes. Now, add in one sliced tomato. Cook for another minute.
Once the tomatoes are starting to soften, add in the ground paste.
Add a cup of water to the empty mixie jar and wash off all the leftover masala paste and add it back to the pan.
Add in the chicken legs / drumsticks. Cover the pressure pan and cook for 3 whistles on medium flame.
Remove from heat and let the pressure from the cooker settle on its own. Open the cooker and remove the chicken legs / chicken drumsticks. Set aside.
Now transfer the gravy to a pan. Let the gravy simmer until thick.
It will take about 10-15 minutes for the gravy to become thick.
Once the gravy is thick, add in the chicken pieces back to the pan. Add in the pepper powder. I usually add freshly cracked black pepper. But for this recipe, I like to use store bought pepper powder that is ground really fine. Also add in fresh curry leaves.
Toss everything to combine. Roast for another couple of minutes. Spicy, lip smacking chicken leg pepper fry / chicken pepper fry / chicken drumstick pepper fry is ready. Serve with biryani or rice. It tastes well with parotta too!
- 2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 2 dried red chillies
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 10 Indian small onions (Shallots)
- 5 cloves garlic
- ½ inch piece ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 sprig +1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 teaspoon pepper powder
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- Cut the chicken legs / chicken drumsticks in 3-4 places with a knife. Set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a pan and add in the dry red chillies, cumin seeds and black pepper. Saute on a medium flame for a minute.
- Add in the sliced small onions (Indian shallots), garlic and ginger. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add in the salt, turmeric powder and coriander powder. Saute for a minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- De-glaze the pan with a cup of water and grind the masala along with the deglazed water to a very smooth paste.
- Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a pressure pan and add in the curry leaves and a sliced onion. Saute for a couple of minutes. Now, add in one sliced tomato. Cook for another minute.
- Once the tomatoes are starting to soften, add in the ground paste.
- Add a cup of water to the empty mixie jar and wash off all the leftover masala paste and add it back to the pan.
- Add in the chicken legs / drumsticks. Cover the pressure pan and cook for 3 whistles on medium flame.
- Remove from heat and let the pressure from the cooker settle on its own. Open the cooker and remove the chicken legs / chicken drumsticks. Set aside.
- Now transfer the gravy to a pan. Let the gravy simmer until thick
- It will take about 10-15 minutes for the gravy to become thick.
- Once the gravy is thick, add in the chicken pieces back to the pan. Add in the pepper powder and the curry leaves.
- Toss everything to combine. Roast for another couple of minutes. Spicy, lip smacking chicken leg pepper fry / chicken pepper fry / chicken drumstick pepper fry is ready. Serve with biryani or rice. It tastes well with parotta too!
Can this be done with normal chicken pieces ? If yes, how much quantity should be taken