Last updated on June 12th, 2025 at 12:18 pm
Kerala chicken fry, a refreshingly simple take on fried chicken prepared without any batter or breading. A staple across Kerala, also known as Kozhi Porichathu, is perfect as a snack or as a pairing to aromatic biryani. Youโll fall in love with the simplicity and surprisingly rich flavor, similar to the Dynamite Chicken popular in Tamil Nadu!
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If youโve had neichoru with chicken fry in Kerala or at Kerala cuisine restaurants, you would have come across this Kerala style chicken fry widely known as Kozhi Porichathu. Although it originated in roadside eateries, you can find restaurants pairing it with Kerala-style biryanis or plain neichoru or some curry and Instant Pot Kerala Rice.
This Kerala chicken fry recipe will give a dish that is exactly like the one I tasted in one of my favorite restaurants. Iโve been in love with this style of chicken fry since the day I tasted it in Kerala.
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Why I love this recipe
- This must be the only chicken dry fry that doesn't require batter or much prep work, and yet it's very flavourful. It's like a lazy chicken fry, where most of the chicken meat comes in contact with the hot oil. This gives a unique dry texture over the surface of the chicken, and when you bite into it, the insides are juicy!
- It doesn't require any fancy equipment for prep work or cooking. You can simply fry it in a deep pan with oil. And since this chicken is a dry fry, it doesn't seem to absorb too much oil.
- This Kerala chicken fry recipe has less than 10 ingredients and can be prepped and cooked in under 30 minutes, apart from the marinating time.
- It is an excellent alternative to dry chilli chicken or chicken 65. This is almost like a version of Kerala fried chicken.
Ingredients
Chicken: Choosing the right type and cut of chicken is important for this recipe. I like to use large pieces of chicken, just like I see in restaurants. Sometimes I use only drumsticks. But cooking the large ones gets difficult in home kitchens. Large pieces require high uniform heat, wherein the chicken gets cooked yet doesn't get burnt.
When I use large pieces of chicken, I make several deep slits on the chicken on one side of the piece (so that you can serve with the other side up - it just looks neat that way). And I cook on low-medium heat for 15 minutes all the while keeping an eye on it to prevent burning.
I recommend that you go for medium-sized pieces that are a little bigger than bite-sized. Another great option would be to use chicken drumsticks. If you cut off the ligaments are the bottom, the drumsticks come out well done.
Spices: A mix of coriander powder, chilly powder, turmeric powder, and a tiny bit of garam masala powder comes together in this chicken fry recipe. I also use ginger garlic paste for flavour.
Frying oil: One of the best ways to bring the authenticity of Kerala cuisine to your home is to use coconut oil. I regularly use coconut oil for deep frying. But you can use neutral vegetable oil for frying.
Substitutions
- If you don't have rice flour, you can use corn flour or all-purpose flour. But remember that rice flour adds to the crispness of this chicken fry.
- You can use an equal quantity of Ginger Garlic Powder instead of ginger garlic paste.
- If your spice tolerance is low, choose Kashmiri Chilli powder instead of regular chilly powder.
Variations
- You can use 2-inch boneless chicken thigh pieces for this street food dish. It'll give you evenly fried chicken pieces. Chicken thighs are better compared to Chicken breast, the latter might give you rubbery chicken. I prefer bone-in chicken for this recipe, it tastes way better.
- If you're using boneless pieces, you can also shallow fry this chicken fry Kerala style.
- For best results, marinate the chicken pieces overnight in your refrigerator. If you're in a hurry, you can also marinate it for 2-3 hours.
Equipment
Deep frying is the best option for this chicken fry. All you need is a pan that is deep enough to hold oil and chicken. I have generally found that using wrought iron "kadai" retains heat exceptionally and cooks the fried food more evenly. However, I don't use wrought iron every time. Heavy-bottomed, tri-ply stainless steel pans work perfectly.
If you have an Air fryer, the no-batter situation works in our favour. Spray the chicken pieces with cooking oil and place on the tray, and cook in " Fry" mode for 10-15 minutes, flipping the chicken pieces at half-time,
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Kerala chicken fry with ghee rice or any pulav. You can also serve this with Kerala style neichoru, or Instant Pot chicken biryani or Instant Pot Kerala Rice with some curry. If serving this as a side dish or a starter, then serve it with sliced onions and deep-fried curry leaves as a garnish.
Storage
For best results, make this kerala style chicken fry fresh and serve it immediately. You can however, store the marinated chicken pieces in the freezer for up to 15 days and in the refrigerator for 1 day. Make sure to use an airtight container.
Top Tip
If you're going to make this recipe, make sure to follow these tips!
- If possible, use coconut oil for frying.
- Marinate the chicken overnight or at least 8 hours.
- Buy a young bird's meat. And stick to medium-sized pieces.
- Cook in low-medium flame.
Got more questions?
In street food shops it is called as thattukadai chicken fry. Whereas the same when served in restaurants maybe called as Kozhi porichathu.
Yes! The no-batter situation works in our favor when we want to use Air Fryer. Spray the marinated chicken with cooking oil. Choose the Fry mode and cook it for 10-15 minutes flipping the chicken pieces at half-time.
Thattukada translates to "plate + shop", but it means street food shop. This chicken fry, although served in hotels, was invented by street food vendors.
No. Kerala chicken fry is deep-fried without any other ingredients like onions. Kerala Chicken Roast on the other hand is made with many other ingredients and cooked with ghee.
Yes, raw bananas or plantains, yams, and baby corn go very well with this recipe.
Use Turkey meat or Quail meat as an alternative to Chicken.
Best Pairing
Kerala Chicken Fry Recipe (The BEST Thattukada Style recipe)
Equipment
- Deep Frying Pan
- Slotted Spoon
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 750 g Chicken , bone-in medium sized pieces*
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic paste
- ยฝ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ยพ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Chilli Powder , heaped, adjust to taste
- โ teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 tablespoon Rice Flour
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ยพ teaspoon Salt , adjust to taste
- ยฝ litre Coconut Oil , or any nuetral vegetable oil
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the chicken. Add it to a mixing bowl and apply the ginger garlic paste over the chicken pieces until it coats all the chicken pieces thoroughly.
- In another small mixing bowl, combine the turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, rice flour, lemon juice and salt. Mixing them all with a spoon.
- Add the mixed paste to the chicken and coat the chicken pieces with the masala paste.
- Cover the mixing bowl and place it in the refrigerator and let it rest overnight or at least 8 hours.
- After the marination time, heat a frying pan and pour the coconut oil or any other oil you're using into the pan.
- Heat the oil until a drop of masala paste immediately comes up and gets burnt. Now reduce the heat to medium flame. Add two or three chicken pieces based on your pan's size.
- Make sure to not crowd the pan. Flip the chicken pieces midway if your pan is shallow.
- Cook for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is deep goldern brown in color. Remove the pieces using tongs or a slotted spoon and place it in a colander lined with a place underneat; for the oil to drain.
- Serve immediately. Fry the remaining pieces in batches.
Notes
- This Kerala chicken fry tastes better with bone-in chicken. Should you use boneless meat, go for thigh meat.
- You can use 2-inch boneless chicken thigh pieces for this street food dish. It'll give you evenly fried chicken pieces.ย
- Breast pieces cook quickly, and overcooking them results in rubbery meat.
- If you want to make this with boneless chicken meat that is smaller in size, you need to adjust the cooking time.
- You can use Chicken Drumsticks if you don't want to go for a mixed type of cut. Cut the ligaments at the bottom of the drumsticks and push towards the top as much as you can. This ensures proper cooking through of the drumsticks.
- If you're using boneless pieces, you can also shallow fry the chicken.
- I use ยพ teaspoon of salt as I feel over the time of marination, it seems adequate. Feel free to adjust it as per your liking.
- For best results, marinate the chicken pieces for 8 hours or overnight in your refrigerator. If you're in a hurry, you can also marinate it for 2-3 hours.
- Coconut Oil gives the best results as it brings out the authentic taste.ย
- If you're using coconut oil for frying and if it is your first time, you should know that the oil foams up quite a bit. This is why your pan should be deep and fill it with oil only till halfway.ย
- Cook in low-medium flame.
- If you don't have rice flour, you can use corn flour or all-purpose flour. But remember that rice flour adds to the crispness of this chicken fry.ย
- You can use an equal quantity of Ginger Garlic Powder instead of ginger garlic paste.ย
- If your spice tolerance is low, use Kashmiri Chilli powder instead of regular chilly powder.
- Serve this Kerala chicken fry with ghee rice, or biryani, or any pulav.
- Serve this as a side dish or a starter, alongside sliced onions and deep-fried curry leaves as a garnish.ย
Nive says
Tastes just like restaurant style chicken fry found in restuarants in Kerala!
Sanju says
Looks amazing. I've had this fry in kerala and it looks just like that. I can't wait to try it...