1Break down a whole chicken into individual pieces and cut large breast pieces in half.
2Place chicken pieces in a big bowl.
3Add buttermilk, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, chopped bird's eye chillies, lemon juice, lemon zest, and chili oil to the chicken.
4Mix thoroughly, ensuring all chicken pieces are covered.
5Marinate for a minimum of a few hours, or ideally overnight.
6For the coating, combine flour, cornflour, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder in a separate bowl.
7Mix the coating ingredients well and set aside.
8About 15-20 minutes before cooking, remove chicken from the marinade and dredge thoroughly in the coating mixture, applying pressure to ensure full coverage.
9Let the coated chicken sit for 15-20 minutes before frying to allow the coating to hydrate.
10Heat oil to 160-170°C for the first fry.
11Carefully place chicken pieces into the hot oil.
12Cook gently for 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through and golden, depending on piece size.
13Remove chicken from oil and let it rest.
14Increase oil temperature to 185-190°C for the second fry.
15Return chicken to the hotter oil to crisp everything up until very crunchy.
16Season generously with sea salt immediately after removing from oil while still hot.
Ingredients
1 whole chicken
500 ml buttermilk
2 –3 bird's eye chillies, chopped
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp chili oil
300 g flour
100 g cornflour
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt
pepper
sea salt
Equipment
big bowl
Tips
Marinate chicken for a minimum of a few hours, preferably overnight.
Apply pressure when coating the chicken to ensure the flour gets into all cracks.
Let the coated chicken sit for 15-20 minutes before frying to hydrate the coating.
Season generously with sea salt while the fried chicken is still hot so the salt sticks to the surface.