Chennai Chicken Wings � A Football Snack from the Land of Cricket

I used to do a new chicken wing video every year before the Super Bowl, but that yearly ritual stopped when I sort of ran out of things to do with them. Being from Western New York State, where chicken wings are as much a religion, as they are a snack, I didn�t want these posts to become gratuitous and contrived.

However, this year I was inspired to reestablish the tradition after enjoying an appetizer called �Chennai Chicken,� served at Dosa, which is one of my favorite Indian restaurants in San Francisco. Their version features thin strips of breast coasted with a ton of spice, and deep-fried to a gorgeous brick red.  

It�s one of those dishes you can�t stop eating, no matter how badly your mouth is burning, and I thought it would make a great approach for a batch of Buffalo wings. Since they�d never published the recipe, I did a lot of guessing here, but think I got pretty close. One of the key ingredients is an Indian spice blend called garam masala, which isn�t too hard to find, but if you can�t, here�s a link to a recipe for making your own.

As usual, feel free to alter the spice amounts as you see fit, but as I said in the video, do not skip the rice vinegar sauce. It really makes the dish. I�m not sure if these wings are too exotic for your Super Bowl party, or if your guests are not exotic enough for them, but I really hope you give them a try anyway. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 pounds split chicken wings

2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoon rice flour

4 teaspoons cayenne

4 teaspoons paprika

4 teaspoons cumin

4 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons kosher salt

For the ginger oil:

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the sauce:

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion

1 tablespoon julienned or grated ginger root

2 teaspoons sambal (spicy ground chili sauce)

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes