Lemon Garlic Chicken

There are some recipes that you just want to make at once. They make you forget about the list of chores that need to be completed, the tv shows that you could be watching, and instead you are standing in the kitchen with ingredients laid out on the counter.

This lemon garlic chicken was one such recipe for me. Instead of the Chinese styled lemon chicken, this is more of an Italian version where the chicken is first browned, then cooked with loads of garlic & spices to make this thick gravy that is just delicious served with spaghetti. Ideally you could serve rice with it, but I prefered the noodles. 

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe.

Ingredients

• 500 grams boneless chicken, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup oil
• 1 cup onions, finely chopped
• 12 cloves garlic (about 1 heads) garlic, peeled and smashed (I peel the garlic, put it in a clean plastic bag then use a meat mallet to smash it)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
• 3 to 4 peppercorns
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cup chicken stock (1 chicken cube dissolved in 1 1/4 cup of water)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 3-4 green chillies, whole 
• 450 grams egg noodles or spaghetti 
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
• Spring Onions or Cilantro/Dhania - for garnish

Directions

1. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon black pepper. Sprinkle the chicken with the flour and mix it together. Set aside.
2. In a large saute pan or wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and golden brown on both sides. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep aside.
3. Keeping the heat on medium-high, add chopped onions to the pan and cook till light brown. Add the smashed up garlic, red chilli flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, peppercorns and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, chicken stock and browned chicken back to the pan. Bring the mixture to boil, then turn heat to simmer. Cover pan with lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove lid, and cook for about 5 minutes till the gravy is to the consistency you prefer. If you want thick gravy, then add cornflour dissolved in water to thicken it. 
4. Deep fry garlic cloves in a small frying pan or tempering pan (baghar pan) till light golden & crisp. Drain on paper towels. Cut the top of the green chili's, take out the seeds from the top, and then shallow fry green onions till blistered. Drain on paper towels again. 
5. Cook the noodles till al dente (timing specified on packet). Drain well, and toss in a large bowl with the butter & parsley. Sprinkle some of the parsley on top for garnish. Keep the water to boil for the noodles when starting to brown the chicken. The noodles should be added when the chicken is on simmer so both chicken & noodles are ready at the same time for the optimal temperature. 
6. Top chicken with fried garlic & chili's. Another option for garnish is to use sliced spring onions or dhaniya/cilantro. 
7. Serve lemon garlic chicken with noodles on the side. 

Lemon Garlic Chicken with Egg Noodles