Chicken wings baked with Kerala masala / Indian spice flavored chicken wings / Chicken wings recipe

Chicken baked to perfection with crispy outside and succulent juicy inside. The meat is cooked in its own fat with just 1 tsp oil  to mix up the marination and to ensure it does not burn that is all.I love experimenting with wings because they are fail proof, the latest  being on July 4th .When innumerable grills in the neighborhood  heat up, going on at almost the same time, outdoor and backyard parties are in full swing.
Charcoal some how does not appeal to me as the meat gets the smoke smell I like the electric grill instead or the good old oven .

Now comes the highlight of the day- watching fireworks.Everyone goes to mountains and hill tops to get a clear view.They do it every year and it is  a tradition .We on the other hand stay indoors.
Ask me why  ask me na... he.. hee.. we get a  spectacular view of  fireworks from our patio.No worry about parking space and no fights for spots :) trust me when I say this people reserve best spots three days in advance by parking their RV and camping on the best spots.Now that is the spirit right !!!

Last year on July 4th I made  Piri Piri Chicken   .This year I wanted to go with crispy wings and try baking it with Kerala masala ..I must say it was a hit .

Very important: For best results slightly warm  up all the spices . When it cools down powder it. Also warm up the powders too.Believe me using freshly powdered ingredients and plantain leaves gives the authentic taste.
I use a coffee grinder to powder the spices.

Ingredients

Chicken wings-12 (with skin)
Part A
Chili powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1tsp
Salt
Part B
Peppercorn- 5-6
Fennel seeds- 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds-1 tbsp
Whole red chili -2
Cinnamon- 1 small piece
Clove - 3 pieces
Cardamom- 2 pods
Curry leaves- 5-6 leaves only
Green chili-1
Ginger -1 inch piece
Garlic- 4 -5  flakes

Method

1.First dry roast the whole spices for a few minutes on medium heat then powder it then coarsely grind everything to  thick paste adding  the ginger,garlic ,green chili and 1 tsp of  olive oil or coconut oil.

2.Cut the chicken wings  into pieces if u like . Wings have three parts.The first two pieces have flesh while the tip fold is just bone So I usually discard the third fold only.Wash ,drain and pat dry if u want.

3.Marinate overnight, chicken wings with part A and  refrigerate it  . Two hours before baking apply the paste in part B.Depending on the climate u live you may leave at the counter.

4.Put a plantain leaf at the bottom of  a  flat baking tray and lay the chicken wings in one layer no overlapping.
Bake in the oven at 400 F for 40 minutes in the middle rack.Start with skin and flesh side up then turn once after about 20 minutes   then finish off with skin side up again to crisp up for last 10 minutes..I leave it in the oven to crisp up some more for another 10 minutes after switching off .Take it out of the oven loosely cover it for few minutes before serving.

I served it with Coleslaw,Jalapeno poppers,celery sticks and bread.

I was racing against sunlight to take photos so half the things are missing in pics.:).Please bear with me because I cook chicken all the time in the evening and they never make it to the blog because taking pics after dark is very difficult :)

Notes:

• I would really recommend  to use skin on pieces the outside crisps up,  makes the wings really tasty by keeping it juicy and soft inside and prevents it from drying out.
• Note that I have used only 1 tsp oil in the whole recipe as once the wings are in the oven  the fat melts and  cooks in its own fat. 
• The chicken does not stick to the plantain leaves so it need not be sprayed with oil.
• I do not like chicken to have any sour taste if you want you may add vinegar 1 tsp or so .

Chicken wings comes in a picnic pack of 20 I usually buy that and marinate and keep separately for different recipes.I try with garlic,hot sauce,buffalo anything I find interesting .So this time too I kept 8 from this pack for murg malai flavored.I was so devastated I can't tell you by the end result and  my daughter was asking me why does it smell like payasam..he hee can't blame her as  the ingredients that went into it and stood ahead are milk with cashew,cheese,cream,butter,cardamom powder...only sugar was missing! If there is no regular spice and heat then my herd is like.. what chicken !!!

Hope you like it.

Meena