Chicken Lollipop - 'Thai style' Errr........ 'My style'

The title must be confusing, isn't it? Well, this dish was born out of confusion. Being a Capricorn, I take pride in organizing my work efficiently, plan things well ahead of time and try my best to stick to the plan. Every day I plan what I am going to cook the next day (sometimes even next week) and make calculations in my mind as to what ingredients I need and whether I have them at home, if not I buy them on the way back home from the local grocery store. There are times when I give my mind a break and feel myself very relaxed. Today was one such day when I didn't know what to cook. I had got 4 chicken leg pieces in my freezer which as you may guess had a purpose to be there. I had "planned" to prepare Chicken leg roast during the weekend. As per my plan, I would marinate it on Friday or Saturday night. (See I make flexible plans too.) But I was in a mood to break rules after all rules are meant to be broken. My heart hummed 'Kal Ho Na Ho' and there I was all set to prepare Leg Roast then and there. But hey hold on, panic! panic! panic! My heart sobbed "Yeh kya hua! Kaise Hua! Kab hua! Kyun Hua!" There was no hint of ginger or garlic in my entire chicken. My heart hooted "Chale Chalo...Chale Chalo" I was suddenly very determined to have those chicken legs no matter what. While I quickly scanned my pantry to PLAN instantaneously my next action, I saw a packet of Thai Red Curry Paste that I had bought on a whim some time back and it was lying there reassuring me - "Tu chal.... Main aayi". I tasted the paste and found it sour. The instructions called for using coconut milk and palm sugar in the curry. Well that was hint enough for me to add something sweet to balance the flavours. I began thinking at a different level to add very unusual ingredients. I came up with Sweet Chilli sauce and Demerara sugar. I added curd to give body to the roast. Talking about unusual ingredients, I added some fresh sprigs of curry leaves too.

Prior to marriage, Sindhu (my sis) and I used to experiment in the kitchen and my dad would encourage us with kind words - "Don't worry about the results of your experiments, girls. No matter how it turns out there is always someone who would eat it without blurting out a single word". For all those who thought the guinea pig was my dad, you are wrong. He referred to our pet dog!

This recipe was an experiment of the sorts and if you are curious to know how this turned out, scroll down to the last pic in this post.

Ingredients:
Chicken Legs - 4
Onion - 1 medium sizes, finely chopped (optional)
Curry leaves - 8-10
Oil - 2 tbsp

For Marination:
Thai Red Curry Paste - 1 packet
Sweet Chilli Sauce - 2 tbsps
Demerara Sugar - 1 tbsp (You could use ordinary sugar too I guess or smiply omit it)
Curd - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken leg pieces with the ingredients called for in the 'For marination' section. Leave it aside for 30 mins, the more the better.

2. Heat oil in a pan, add chopped onions and curry leaves. Saute till onions turn light golden brown. Strain and remove them from the oil.

3. In the same oil, add the marinated chicken legs and leave it on a low flame covered. Stir occassionally.

4. Once the chicken pieces are cooked, increase the flame and cook without lid till there is no water in the pan and the entire masala is sticking on to the legs. Add the caramlized onions and combine.

5. Serve hot as a starter/appetizer.

This dish had a very unique taste which I had never ever tasted before. Felt good to be the originator of this recipe. If anyone of you tries it out, do let me know. I would be very glad to hear from you. Kids could nibble on the legs easily coz it was not spicy at all.