THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Chicken wings,
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice,
• 1 cup all-purpose flour ,
• As per taste black pepper,
• 2 teaspoon salt,
• 1.5 teaspoon red chili powder,
• 1.5 teaspoon cumin, white slightly grinded,
• 3/4 teaspoon thyme, dried,
• 1 cup plain soda or 7up,
• 1 tablespoon oil,
• oil for deep frying ,
• Parsley sprigs for garnish.

Instructions:

• Cut off the wing tips.
• Halve wings at joint.
• Separate the "drumstick," or first-joint, pieces (the thick ones) from the second-joint pieces. Beginning at the narrower end of each "drumstick," with a sharp knife cut the tendons and, holding the exposed end of the bone with a kitchen towel, scrape the skin and meat down the bone as far as possible toward the thicker end to make a plump drumstick shape.
• Cut through the cartilage at one end of each second-joint piece, separating the bones, scrape the skin and meat down the larger bone to make a plump drumstick shape, and pull out and discard the smaller bone.
• Arrange all of the "drumsticks" in a shallow dish, sprinkle them with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, and let them marinate, covered and chilled, for 1 hour.
• Make the batter while the chicken is marinating: In a bowl whisk together the flour, the salt, the red chilli powder, the cumin, the thyme, and the cayenne and make a well in the center.
• Add the soda and the oil in a stream and whisk the batter until it is smooth.
• Let the batter stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Stir the batter before using it.
• In a large deep fryer or karahi heat 2 inches of the oil to 375 degrees on a deep fat thermometer.
• Dip the chicken in the batter and fry in oil, 5 pieces at a time, turning it, for 3 minutes, or until it is cooked through and golden.
• Transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon as it is fried to paper towels to drain and make sure the oil returns to 375 degrees before adding each new batch.
• Sprinkle the drumsticks with salt to taste, arrange them on a platter, and garnish the platter with the parsley sprigs.

• Serves 6 people.

• Preparation Time: 15 minutes.

• Cooking Time: 15 minutes.