Chicken 65

Marinate the chicken. Mix the chicken with the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, lemon juice, salt and chopped curry leaves. Cover and marinate in the fridge for anywhere from 30 minutes up to 8 hours - the yoghurt's acidity gently tenderises the meat while the spices work their way in.

Coat in the flours. Just before frying, sprinkle over the cornflour and rice flour and mix until it forms a thick, clinging coat, adding a tablespoon or two of water only if the mixture looks dry. The combination of the two flours gives the eventual crust its characteristic crisp, slightly brittle texture.

Heat the oil. Pour oil to a depth of about 4 cm into the heavy pot or wok and heat to 175°C, checking with a frying thermometer. Getting the temperature right before frying matters - too cool and the coating turns greasy rather than crisp.

Fry in batches. Fry the chicken in 3 batches, separating the pieces as they go in so they don't clump together, for 4-5 minutes per batch until deep red-brown, crisp and reaching 74°C inside the largest piece. Drain each batch on the wire rack and let the oil return to temperature between batches.

Make the tempering. In a small frying pan, heat the tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, then add the curry leaves - stand back, as they spit in hot oil - followed by the green chillies and garlic. Cook for 30-60 seconds until the leaves turn crisp and the garlic is pale gold, then toss straight through the fried chicken.

Serve. Pile the chicken onto a plate with the tempering scattered over, and serve with the sliced red onion rings and lemon wedges alongside. The sharp onion and fresh lemon cut nicely through the chicken's heat and crunch.