Honey Lemon Chicken Wings

Chicken Wings are an all-time favorite for everyone I know. I had never tried Chicken wings before I came to the USA. Our cuisine in India does not offer kebabs or appetizers using Chicken wings. Initially, Chicken wings were always something we ate outside. It’s not that I didn’t think of trying them but it’s just that Mr. Parveez and I as a couple liked Chicken wings but weren’t that huge of a fan. There was a halal restaurant that made Chicken wings with green masala and every once in a while we would go and enjoy the awesome wings. And, after a couple of years, the restaurant shut down.

Well, that didn’t really inspire me to start making my own Chicken wings. A few months later we discovered another wonderful Halal Gyro place that all make Hot saucy Chicken wings which were great, but with time the restaurant lost its taste of making good food. I believe the management changed and hired a new chef that couldn’t maintain the flavors. This is when I felt I should start making my own.

The first-ever Chicken wings I started making were the Buffalo Chicken wings. The kids loved it and it served as a great appetizer or a side dish for brunches and playdates. Once I spent few years making them and seeing fans increasing, I decided on experimenting with different flavors using wings. That’s when I made the green Chicken wings followed by the Special Haala’s hot saucy Chicken wings and finally these. The main reason behind trying these was that I wanted to come up with a recipe that has a little sweet and spicy taste. This recipe is great for people who find it hard to handle spices.

Why Wings?

Wings are cooked with skin and when pan-fried or deep-fried become crunchy. Any flavors, especially those that are saucy taste great with anything that is crisp.

Why use honey and not sugar?

Honey blends in better with spices than sugar. Sugar tends to crystallize or make the sauce more watery so, honey is the best option.

These wings are lightly sweet and lightly spicy which tantalize the taste buds in a way of playing hide and seek. Spicy and sweet together are a wonderful combination and if you combine that with Chicken wings, the crispy texture of the skin and the flavors mingled along with it are just beyond the word “delicious”. If you like Chicken wings, you should try this recipe.

Chicken Hari Bhari Udaan

Doesn’t the name sound super funny? Or weird? Well, I will tell you the story behind the name. To start with, this recipe is completely made up by me. Now you might think, that isn’t a big deal for someone who presents herself as a chef. Yeah, probably not. But the things used to make this dish were the Chicken wings which otherwise are only used for recipes made with hot sauce or masala. So when I thought of coming up with a name. Chicken wings added the ‘udaan’ which means flight, Chicken of course is Chicken, and since I used Green masala, it’s “Hari Bhari”…I am sure you will love the recipe as much as the name.

This dish is super spicy. While making it I could feel the rush to taste it and when I did, it was one of the most amazing flavors I have ever created. Just make sure that if aren’t the bravest of heart then you need to keep a glass of water next to you.

This dish is made from the heart, there was no basic recipe, nothing that I have tasted before, nothing similar seen or heard of either…. just something I wanted to cook at that moment. If you enjoy spiced-up food and enjoy something that makes your mouth sizzle for a few hours after you have consumed it, this is a must-try.

I had Chicken wings and boneless chicken and I felt like combining both with loads of spice. Do you ever have a spice craving? I do, Big time, and even though I know it would hit me hard later, but I want my taste buds to party and feel satisfied as well… As much as I love different spices, spice mix with coriander leaves, mint leaves, and green chilies have always been my favorite. In this dish, I also added Black pepper powder with some whole spices and most importantly, the green chili sauce and Anardana powder.

Fennel seeds to me are a little underestimated and I believe they add a lot of fragrance to your spicy food, just like cardamom powder to your sweet dishes, and even though adding it to your dish in the initial minutes makes your house smell like a fancy Indian Restaurant, not a lot of people use it.

I used Chicken wings and little boneless chicken, but you are free to use any chicken with or without bones. Just that if using Chicken with bones, it adds more flavor since the sauces extract juices off the bones. Any which way you make it, this dish is will surely make your mouth water. You don’t have to stick to Chicken, you can also try the sauce with Fish, preferably something that is not very strong in taste, something like Haddock or Cod Fish or Whitening fish would be a better option. For the vegetarian option, you can always use Soya chaanp or Paneer, or Tofu. The sauce mix is great and is a fabulous mix for any protein preference you like.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Buffalo Chicken Wings can easily come under one of the most favorite chicken dishes in America. Fried and crunchy wings, dipped in hot sauce is not just finger licking good but amazingly satisfying and juicy. This amazing dish is mandatory on game nights. And, if you happen to be an Indian family like us, and have men [my hubby and 2 boys] who happen to be fans of almost all sports, you need to learn this dish.

Chicken wings make it to our living room during cricket matches, Basket ball, Soccer and even wrestling. Yupp, we watch them all and if possible, sometimes over movies as well.

A few years ago, we discovered a halal restaurant that served Chicken Wings. That’s when we started bringing them in every game time. But with time we lost interest, since the fried wings with sauce would become soggy by the time we would bring them home and serve. So, Mr. Parveez gave up on eating wings altogether and our sports days were “wingless”..LOLzzz.

One fine day, while picking up my regular halal meat, I happened to ask the butcher if he sells wings separately. As much as the question sounds silly today, you have to understand that it was coming from a woman who has never bought them in her life. So, I got some chicken wings and hot sauce and came up with this recipe. It might be a little different from your regular chicken wings, slightly more spicier but trust me, its better. You could always reduce the spice level if you prefer.

So, since then, there was no looking back. These chicken wings are loved by our friends, friends of my kids. In fact, my son once told me that his friend was telling the whole class about the amazing wings he had on his last play date at our house, which of course made my son very happy and proud.

A wonderful recipe to win hearts.

Saucy Chicken Lollipop

This is second kind of Chicken Lollipop that I invented and all because my older one came in asking that he needs sauce “dripping” on the lollipops. I have mentioned it numerous times in my other food stories of how well demanding my boys are. So, after thinking out in detail about how I can make them extra juicy, I came up with this recipe.

It requires a little marination and further its cooked in little oil, unlike other chicken lollipop recipes, where they are deep fried, so its kind of a guiltless pleasure that lets you over indulge. Further, more sauces are mixed in and you let it cook further in the sauces.

This recipe is super saucy and the chicken lollipops are not too crunchy but soft and juicy.

Haala’s Chicken Lollipop

I have never met a kid or a person who enjoys chicken and does not go crazy over chicken lollipops. I, myself go overboard and hate to admit, but I go overboard when it comes to these little round juicy, crunchy creeps. After all, no one eats one chicken lollipop, NO, NEVER. In my books, if you don’t indulge and go crazy with them, you are committing a sin, BIG TIME.

This dish is meant to be enjoyed with friends/family and made enough so, everyone can enjoy to the max. I am posting a video as well that teaches you the easiest way to make lollipops out of your wings. The video isn’t just easy to follow but its the safest way to not cut your fingers. So, if you wish to try making these, please do watch the video and follow.

So, coming back to the lollipops. My boys love chicken wings and I would serve those on play dates/ game nights/ get together. The chicken wings I made gained so much popularity between our friends that I believe a lot of people went out of their way to be at our every party only to devour the juicy wings…LOLzzz. So once in Bangalore, my boys tried chicken lollipops and the dish just earned themselves a new fan. That’s when the mommy had to try her skills to make a new dish. Now, I make 4 different flavors of chicken lollipop but I still have not tried making something close to what my boys had tried but, I came up with my own recipes and they all are lip smacking delicious.

So if you are a fan of chicken lollipops like us, this recipe is a must try. Just like other recipes with chicken wings these will surely impress you and your loved ones.