Ria's Collection: FRIED CHICKEN KABABS... Empire restaurant style!

Friday, March 9, 2012

FRIED CHICKEN KABABS... Empire restaurant style!

Chicken Kababs

Is there anyone out here who hasn't tasted the Empire Restaurant's (Bangalore) Chicken Kababs? I'm sure there are plenty and all I can tell them is ' you are really missing out on some good stuff!'. This was my most ordered, favourite item of theirs.I could eat as much as they would give me but they never gave more than 5 or 6 pieces and since we were in our college days, we needed our pocket money for more than just kababs ;-)

Chicken Kabab

Usually when I think of Kababs/Kebabs, they are either baked or pan fried. This one is different from the rest as they are deep fried using a marinade. In Bangalore, you can find people selling these not only in restaurants but also in those road side shops which opens only after 6.30 pm and their menu doesn't go beyond Fried Rice and Chicken Kababs.

Chicken Kabab

There was an old Uncle right across the street from our hostel who sold Fried Rice & Chicken Kababs and we were regular customers of his yummy food. He would make these in front of us but the marinade was made ahead of time and gave me no options to have a sneak peek of what's going into it. I remember asking him once to which he replied,' We use Bombay Kabab Masala'. I really have no idea if such a thing exists ! Once when Appan and Amma came to visit me in Bangalore, I bought them a plate of Kababs from that old Uncle's restaurant and ever since, if Appan goes that side, he buys it and eats them!

Chicken Kabab

I didn't give up my hunt. I remember seeing a recipe in Vanitha for Empire Chicken Kababs and it was just flour,vinegar, chicken, food colour, Empire kabab masala (!?!) and salt. C'mon, when you give a recipe, it should be a whole recipe...how else will you know what's there in that Empire kabab masala? Never mind! I still wrote down that recipe in my favourite navy blue diary.

Chicken Kabab

Like I mentioned in my previous post (Remember the late night Kadala Muttai?), I woke up one fine day with the thought of having the Empire kababs. Now where in Minnesota will I ever get it? Who in Minneapolis can make it for me? No one! I ate Jobin's brains,vented out on Facebook but nothing helped. So the hunt began...now you know where my hunt can lead me to! EMPIRE KABABS!!!! :-)

Chicken KababFRIED CHICKEN KABABS
Recipe from here

Ingredients:
4 tbsp maida/ all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
2 tbsp red chili powder
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 
2 eggs
1 tbsp cumin powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
Juice of 2 limes (or to taste)
3 green chilies, finely chopped
1/4 tsp red food colour,optional ( I used it)
Salt to taste

1 kg chicken, with bones (I used chicken thighs)
Oil for deep frying

Method: In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients from maida to salt. Add a few extra drops of water if the batter is very thick. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat well. Let it marinate, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Heat oil on high heat, in a deep vessel. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chicken pieces, a few pieces at a time. Fry for 3-4 mins turning the pieces occasionally. If you fry it further, the colour of the coating will change from red to brown, if you used food colour. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a few lime wedges & onions rings.

You are gonna LOVE it!

Chicken Kababs

These kababs are as good as the ones we get in Empire or maybe even better! The chicken remains so juicy after frying that you need to hold a paper napkin underneath to protect your clothes!As soon as the first piece came out of the oil, I had to eat it. I must admit, it was so so good! Even Jobin said the same! When I was photographing these, I really couldn't resist the yummy smell of it and thought 'What the heck! After all it's for me  us!' That's the photograph you saw above :-)

Make this super easy appetizer for your next party and reap the compliments! There's nothing to go wrong in here!

28 Comments:

S.N said...

I am DROOOOLING!!!!!!

-Safa

Shireen said...

I can't wait to try it cuz I know im gonna love it!! Brilliant Ria! U really go after the things you set ur heart on, dont u? :)) P.S: I am not complaining :) Thanks for the recipe!

My Kitchen Antics said...

that does bring back memories. Used to hit the night clubs and party till the wee hours of the morning and head to empire (which was the only decent place open at that ungodly hour) and eat to our hearts content :)
I dont remember the chicken kebab precisely, but i do remember the food being awesome. If only I didnt have a phobia with deep frying, i would have tried this right away. Looks heavenly :(

Aarthi said...

This looks delicious Ria..Totally YUMMY

Vimitha Durai said...

Am drooling here... Bookmarking this wonderful recipe Ria

Unknown said...

hi ria..
thanks for the recipe.. me and my husband both of us love the chicken kebabs from empire restaurant..will definitely try it.. i actually once tried chicken kebabs with "BAKERS CHICKEN KEBAB" mixture, and it was really yummy..can satisfy ur cravings for some time.. but the sad thing i bought just one pkt to try out and never found it again in that shop or any other shop:(

Nisha said...

Yes. I haven't tasted. I'm a vegetarian ;) :D

Deepthi KR said...

wonderful cliks and lovely combination

Umm Mymoonah said...

I haven't heard about this before but it looks very tempting, I'm definitely gonna try this.

Shobha said...

Looks so tempting.. I'm surely gonna try it ...

Anzz said...

That looks lovely. These empire kebabs with ghee rice and their dal fry used to be my favorite when back in college. Sure brings back memories..!

Rafeeda AR said...

Hi Ria... I tried this along with hummos last night, and it was yummy, to say the least! I kept the marinade only for a hour and a half, but still the pieces were juicy and the smell was awesome, that I had to break my diet of not having dinner at night! Next on target is the Kuttanadan Chicken Roast... will let you know how it turns out. Keep up your very good work! :)

Lin said...

Hi Ria,

I love your Blog..I was always a silent reader..I just love your cooking/baking/photographs..I've tried many of your recipes and it did come come out well. I'm sorry that din't give credit each time by commenting but I sure did tell everyone that it's from your Blog:)

I'm drooling seeing this recipe! Nostalgic memories about this chicken kababs. I'm so happy that you posted this recipe. I'm definitely going to try this soon.

Ria, Is there any possibility to pin your recipes to Pinterest (to share this great recipes ) It will be awesome if you could do that!

Anyways, Keep up the great work you are doing! Hope your family is doing well too ! (Know everyone so well now:)

Dilip Raj said...

Hi Ria..
The kebabs at Empire are good but it's the onion rings that they serve with it that make it special. Do you know how to make those onion rings?

nash1969@gmail.com said...

it is very delicious and thanks for the recipe it turned out to be like imperial chicken waited for almost 12 years in usa.

Preethy Soman said...

I tried the Empire style chicken kebabs and i cud have hugged you out of pure joy. It came out exactly the way we eat at empire i was literally in tears after i had it, brought back loooot of memories :) beautiful recipe. thanks a ton :)

Admin said...

It is very disappointing to see that you don't give any credit to the original author whose recipe you used. You say you did a lot of searching to find empire style kebab. But when you have found it you explain how good the outcome is but give no credit whatsoever to the original author and blog of the recipe.

Ria Mathew said...

Hello admin, if you look closely, you will see the link to her blog . If the author saw it ( unless you are the one), she would be happy (I suppose) to see that her recipe was found useful by many, including myself.

Jobin said...

hello, made this for a buddy session, it was good.

Hope others enjoy it!!

Unknown said...

I finally found the recipe for EMPIRE KABAB!!!!!!!!!! You dnt know how happy I am to see this recipe.... I am going to make it tonight...i am from Bangalore and used to eat the KABAB al the time...thank you so much....

Chris said...

I tried this recipe and it was amazing! So soft inside and crisp on the outside. My husband ate only the kebabs for dinner, he didn't want anything else with it :D

Chris said...

I tried this recipe, Ria, and it was amazing! Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. My husband ate only the kebabs for dinner, no rice or anything to go with it. I must say, they are better than the Empire kebabs :-) Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Hi Ria,

Great recipe. Turned out to be vary tasty. However, I am not sure wt is the mistake I made.The kebabs were soggy, and not crispy at all. Any idea wt is the mistake I wud have made. @Guys, who have made it. Any tips to make it cripsy.

Thankyou
Rajiv

jen said...

Good Day Ria,

I tried this recipe yesterday the 5th September, 2014 and it was yuuuuumy...something that I have eaten in couple of friends house here in Sydney which my husband loves and never stops...Finally I can prepare chicken kebabs for weekend and guess what my son who is 7 years old loves chicken and he gave thumps to this recipe of yours...Unfortunately I could not follow your recipe foolproof but used the breastfillet and chilie paste as I had no green chillis or chicken with bones..LOL...They tasted great and I could not stop from my eating more myself...LOL... Thanks for sharing..Hope you have a lovely weekend.

TechScribe said...

Thanks for the share Ria. This looks awesome. Just made the batter and marinated the chicken. Can't wait to fry the kababs and eat them

TechScribe said...

BTW, Imperial used to be more famous for this type of Kababs in 1987 than Empire. I guess Empire expanded and established more outlets than Impies.

Mamma Rabbit said...

Thanks for this recipe, Ria. We miss Bangalore food all the time, and were hunting for the Empire chicken recipe online today. I've added onion juice from half an onion instead of the food color for the marinade. The kababs aren't as red as with the the food color, but taste great!

pris said...

These truly tastes like the Empire kebabs!! Just add some Ghee rice and its a walk down memory lane

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