Chicken Lollipop

Name: Chicken Lollipop
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian (Maharashtra)
Ingredients: 12 chicken drumettes (wing drumettes — small drumsticks from wings); Oil for deep frying (500 ml in a kadai); 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp red chilli sauce (Maggi or Tabasco); 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; ½ tsp red chilli powder; ½ tsp black pepper powder; ¼ tsp turmeric; 1 tsp lemon juice; ½ tsp salt; 3 tbsp cornflour; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour (maida); 1 tbsp rice flour (for extra crispness); 1 tsp red chilli powder; ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (for vivid red colour); ½ tsp garam masala; ½ tsp salt; 1 egg (or 3 tbsp water for egg-free); Water to make a medium-thick batter (not too runny); 2 tbsp schezwan sauce; 1 tbsp tomato ketchup; ½ tsp vinegar — mix; The lollipop shaping is important for the presentation and for even cooking — unshaped wing pieces do not give the same effect; Frying at 175°C (not higher) allows the chicken to cook through before the batter burns — test oil temperature with a drop of batter that should rise to the surface immediately; Rice flour in the batter is the key to a crackling, thin crust — omitting it produces a soft, doughy coating

🍗 Non-veg📊 Medium

Mumbai's favourite party snack elevated to a dinner appetiser — chicken drumettes with meat pushed to one end to create a lollipop shape, deep-fried in a spicy cornflour-red chilli batter until crackling crisp. Served with schezwan chutney and raw onion rings.

⏱️55 minPrep

🔥20 minCook

🕒75 minTotal

🍽️4Serves

🧺 Ingredients

👩‍🍳 How to make Chicken Lollipop

Shape lollipops (No heat): For each drumette, push all the meat to one end using your fingers and a small knife to scrape and push the meat down over the knuckle. The exposed bone becomes the "stick." Rinse lollipops.
Marinate (No heat): Combine all marinade ingredients. Coat lollipops thoroughly, ensuring marinade gets into the meat. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature.
Make batter (No heat): Mix cornflour, maida, rice flour, chilli powders, garam masala and salt. Add egg (or water). Add water gradually to achieve a smooth, medium-thick batter that coats the back of a spoon — not too runny (drips off), not too thick (makes a pasty coating).
Dip and fry (Heat: medium-high oil at 175°C): Heat oil to 175°C in a deep kadai. Dip each marinated lollipop in batter, coating all sides. Slide into hot oil, holding the bone end. Fry 3–4 pieces at a time (do not crowd). Fry for 6–7 minutes total, turning once halfway, until the batter is deep red-orange and completely crisp, and the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear).
Drain and serve: Drain on paper towels briefly. The lollipop batter will soften within 5–10 minutes — serve immediately. Arrange on a plate with schezwan sauce in a small bowl, raw onion rings and lime wedges.

📖 Cultural notes

|---|---|---|---|---| | 370 kcal | 28 g | 18 g | 21 g | 1 g | Chicken lollipop is quintessential Mumbai party food — served at every birthday party, Ganesh Chaturthi celebration gathering, and restaurant starter menu across the city. The lollipop shape was invented for practical eating at standing parties — no cutlery needed, the bone is the handle. The dish is a Mumbai-specific adaptation of Chinese-Indian fusion cooking that emerged from the city's thriving Hakka Chinese restaurant community. ---

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