Chicken Manchurian

Cooking restaurant style food at home has its own advantages. You get to eat tasty treats and cut down the calories as well. Today's recipe is a low calorie baked version of the popular Indo Chinese Chicken Manchurian. If you guys liked my earlier post Prawn Manchurian, you will definitely love this one too.

Ingredients:
Boneless Chicken - 1/2 pound
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 4 tsp
Red Onion (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Spring/Green Onions/Scallions - 8
Capsicum/Bell Pepper - about 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 medium
Dry Red Chilies - 3
Soy Sauce - 2 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp
Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs
Whole Wheat Flour - 1/4 cup
Corn Starch - 1 tbsp
Salt
Oil


How to cook Chicken Manchurian:

• In a mixing bowl, add lemon juice, cayenne pepper, 2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. Add bite size chicken pieces and let the chicken marinate for about 2 hours. Keep it refrigerated.
• Preheat the oven at 375 degrees F. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Grease it with cooking spray or oil.
• Add whole wheat flour and corn starch to the marinated chicken. Mix so that the chicken pieces are coated well with flour. You can use all purpose flour/maida as well. Spread the chicken pieces on the baking dish and drizzle about 2 tbsp oil. Bake the chicken for about 8 minutes. Flip the chicken pieces and bake for another 5 minutes or until cooked.
• Finely chop green onions and separate the whites and greens. Julienne slice the bell pepper. Puree tomato and dry red chilies to a fine paste. Add little water if required.
• Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai/wok. Sauté diced bell peppers for a minute or two, so that the peppers are half cooked. Save it for later.
• In the same wok, add 1 tbsp oil. Add finely chopped red onions, white parts of green onions and 2 tsp ginger garlic paste. Add little salt and 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper. Saute until onions turn soft. Add green parts of green onions, tomato puree, tomato ketchup and soy sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens. Lastly, add bell peppers and baked chicken. Cook for few minutes until the chicken is coated well with the sauce.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and/or spring onions and serve with noodles or rice.