Chicken Nuggets Recipe | Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets!!!! Ask a kid and this will be on his/her most loved snack list. Even grown ups do. I have always loved chicken nuggets too and years before I used to pick up the ready-made frozen packs to satisfy my hanker. I was and still not a health freak, yet I was panicking how the frozen and packed ones could affect health, we never know what kind of ingredient goes into the making of packed food. But the craving always make us greedy right? so after browsing through many recipes started to make my own version of homemade chicken nuggets and it tasted exceedingly good. From then, I would always make a batch of nuggets use it either immediately or freeze them for later. These tasted much better than the store bought ones and satisfied me so much healthwise. This has been our family favorite too (Note that satisfying my family with some non-traditional dish is not that easy :P). 

Now talking about the dish, it has a crispy outer layer and a soft inner chunky part that is made with chicken and cheese. The duo blends well and gives an incredibly tasty outcome. I have used minimal and very familiar ingredients with no compromise on taste. Many recipes called for a particular varieties of cheese, but I used ordinary amul cheese cubes that we get widely here in Indian grocery and dairy stores and it still tasted out yum. From my experience using the fleshy part from chicken thighs will make the nuggets even more juicy and softer. Do try this i'm sure you'll love the outcome. 

INGREDIENTS

Total Preparation Time - 20 minutes (plus overnight marinating period)
Serves nearly 12 - 18 pieces of nuggets depending on the size

1. Chicken - 150 grams (boneless and skinned) 
2. Cheese - 25 grams 
3. Garlic pod - 1 (a big one)
4. Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Soya sauce - 1/2 tsp 
6. Vinegar / Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp 
7. Egg - 1
8. Salt - As needed 
9. Corn flour / Maida - As required 
10. Buttermilk / Curd - As required 
11. Oil - To shallow fry the pieces 

PREPARATION METHOD

• Marination: Wash chicken pieces well in water and chop it into smaller cubes.  Make sure to remove any skin or bones present. Now add curd (plus some water) or buttermilk and mix well. Place in the chiller tray in refrigerator and leave undisturbed a whole night. Next day remove the marinated chicken from refrigerator and set aside until it reaches room temperature, then drain all the buttermilk and wash well. Drain water completely. 
• Beat egg and set aside. 
• Add the chicken pieces to a blender and blend well until it seems smooth. (give a pulse type grinding if your mixie gets stuck) Then cut cheese into smaller cubes add it to the ground chicken and run the blender again until chicken and cheese gets smooth. 
• Now add salt, garlic pod (peeled of course), pepper powder, salt, vinegar, soya sauce and a tablespoon of beaten egg, blend again. The mix should be smooth and you must be able to make a ball out of it. See that the mixture is thick, it should not be too loose, if so add some more cheese. 
• Now take corn flour and bread crumbs each in separate shallow bowls. 
• Then take a few drops of oil and grease your palms and fingers, pick a small portion from the ground mix and shape it into small patties or any shapes you wish. 
• Roll it in flour, then dip in beaten egg and  finally coat it with breadcrumbs, shake off excess breadcrumbs. Place on a wide tray. 
• Do the same with the rest of the chicken mixture. 
• Now place a pan on flame and pour oil. After it heats up place the nuggets on it and shallow fry. Take care to turn sides gently and also fry on a medium flame until they turn golden brown. 
• Remove from flame and place on a tissue paper to remove excess oil. 
• Serve hot with mayo (preferably) or ketchup. 

TIP 1: Buttermilk or curd helps to tenderize chicken and also gives a better flavor. If you do not have buttermilk, just mix the chicken pieces with slightly sour curd. An overnight marination will give you tender chicken pieces and also will taste good. If you do not have buttermilk use a tablespoon of vinegar. 

TIP 2: I used normal amul cheese, you can use any unflavored cheese. 

TIP 3: Cheese has salt in it so be careful while adding salt, just add lesser than you usually do.  

TIP 4: I used homemade breadcrumbs that were finer in texture so it gave a nice crunch and an even golden brown look. For home made bread crumbs, take a few slices of bread, tear it into very small pieces, then place a flat pan on flame and spread the torn bread. Set on a low flame and wait for a few minutes, then turn the pieces and switch off the flame. Leave it undisturbed. Now touch the bread and see if it is completely crisp, if not place on flame for a few more minutes. Then cool and grind it coarsely. Store or use.

Dunk in ketchup or mayo and munch on..!! or serve with some piping hot soup and enjoy!!!!!!!!!