Keto Chicken Farcha
Another Keto Fried Chicken
Chicken Farcha is probably a dish that most of you are not familiar with. It’s a fried chicken made by the Parsi community of India. It’s mildly spiced and then coated in either breadcrumbs or semolina flour, dipped in egg and then deep friend. The highlight of this dish is the mild flavour and the egg coating. This was requested by HK fan Andy Bhavsar on our HK Facebook group quite a few times and since I love the dish myself, I thought it was time to make it. Since I’ve already made a recipe for a Keto fried chicken where I made breadcrumbs using my 90 second Keto bread I wanted to do something different for this recipe. I spent some time experimenting with almond flour, coconut flour etc for deep frying to see what works best and surprise surprise it was psyllium husk that did the job. Anyway enough jibber jabber, enough the recipe.
This could also be a chicken pakora
I think if you used boneless pieces of chicken and did the same thing, you’ve got a Keto chicken Pakora. Whether you use bone in chicken or boneless, a good green chutney is a must have to accompany the dish. I did a really delicious one for my Tandoori chicken wings recipe, so check it out and use that recipe. Cooking this chicken properly though is a pressure point. The reason being that egg cooks very fast and depending on the size of the chicken piece it will take much longer to cook. As I mentioned in the video it’s important to have the oil hot but not so hot that the outside browns in seconds and the inside remains raw. I do not use a deep frying so I have no clue about the cooking temperature. Like most Indian cooks/chef it’s all by look and feel and going with the flow. I did however see some recipes where the chicken was first cooked either in a pan or in the microwave and then breaded and fried, so that could be something you do to ensure a chicken piece that is cooked all the way through. Anyway, enjoy!
Nutrition Info (per serving)
- Calories: 342
- Net Carbs: 1g
- Carbs: 5g
- Fat: 20g
- Protein: 31g
- Fiber: 4g
This recipe makes 2 servings. Get this recipe on myfitnesspal.
Keto Chicken Farcha
Ingredients
- 2 Full Chicken Legs (Skinless) Drumstick and Thigh
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Pepper I recommend this
- 1/2 Tsp Tumeric Try this one
- 1/2 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder Try this one
- 1 Tsp Coriander Powder Try this one
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder Try this one
- 1 Tsp Ginger Garlic Paste I recommend this one
- 1/2 Lime (Juiced)
- 2 Tbsp Psyillium Husk I use this
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken by separating the thigh and the drum and cutting gashes into the flesh.
- Marinate the chicken with salt, pepper, tumeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger garlic paste and the juice of half a lime.
- Set aside and let marinate for 30 minutes at least if not longer.
- Set up a breading station for the chicken by putting psyillium husk in a plate and crack two eggs in another.
- Season the eggs with salt and pepper and then beat them.
- Coat the chicken in the psyillium husk and then dip into the egg and then put it straight into the oil to deep fry
- Make sure the oil is not scorching hot otherwise the outside will cook fast and leave the inside raw. So cook it on a medium heat for a longer time to ensure it's cooked through
- Once done, drain on paper towls and serve with green chutney.
Looks yummy as always
I like to soak the chicken in a salt water solution for 30 minutes, then parboil before coating and frying in the oil. It helps the chicken be as moist as can be and ensures you won’t have a burned crust on the outside and raw chicken on the inside. 🙂
that makes absolute sense 🙂 thanks for the tip.
Anandia: If you soak the chicken in a salt water solution and then parboil – where does the Headbanger’s recipe on marinating come in or don’t you marinade?
What kind of oil do you cook in?
I think I used a mix of bacon fat, ghee and olive oil when I made this.
can I use normal canola oil?? or refined oil??
Nope, you want to avoid those on Keto.
Can I use coconut oil?
Sure
KFC boils the chicken before deep frying in a pressure cooker, it’s the cooking in water which keeps it moist.
Thanks for the tip 🙂
Does it make the skin/coating less crispy? Because of the moisture?
What kind of oil did you use?
I used a mixture of ghee and olive oil (the frying kind). You can use lard/bacon fat/avacado oil/coconut oil etc etc.
Hi Sahil, I was wondering what the proportions are for ghee to olive oil?
Mine was literally at random.
Just tried this as pakoras, very good. I didn’t put quite enough spice In my marinade.
Glad it tasted good. The measurements can be tricky, I mostly eyeball spices.
I’ve never seen psyillium husk used this way! Is it neutral in flavor? From the video it didn’t look like it had much crunch, I wonder if that’s because of the low temperature or if it’s just how psyillium husk behaves when fried. Looks like something to experiment with.
So chicken farcha isn’t really ‘crunchy’ anyway because it’s more about the egg coating on the outside. It will have the authentic farcha taste though.
Psyllium husk is very neutral in flavor – as in not really any flavor at all. My first try at using it ended with a great looking crunchy coating but very little taste.
Omg, so glad I stumbled on this channel (youtube)! These are the dishes I’m more familiar with and love to eat. Keto curry last night, keto farcha tonight!
Omg, so glad I stumbled on this channel (youtube)! These are the dishes I’m more familiar with and love to eat. Keto curry last night, keto farcha tonight!
Glad to hear that 🙂
Awesome recipe . Just had this a few months ago at soda bottle.. will try this. And your dad ??
Has anyone tried cooking these in an air-fryer?
Someone on our facebook group/page did it and didn’t recommend it.
I prefer boneless chicken, would this recipe be good with a chicken breast?
Yes absolutely. In fact it’s perfect because it will cook quickly as well.
Hi, any tips on how to do this with already cooked chicken? I was hoping I could shred up some rostisserie chicken and make
them into pakoras. Any suggestions?
Exactly the same way. I would shred the chicken, blend it with some spices and get like a paste/mince out of it, shape it, coat it, dip it, fry it. The only difference is you can fry it at a higher temperature so the outside cooks faster and you are done. You don’t need to cook it for 5-8 minutes at a low temp to make sure the chicken cooks all the way through. Hope that helps.
I am cooking your Chicken Farcha for dinner tonight and I cannot find it on My Fitness Pal. Could you add it to MFP, please? 🙂
I see you add garlic, turmeric, chilli powder and even tomatoes in many of your recipes.But when I see the macros it doesn’t add up.
Shouldn’t we count the carbs from spices?.
You can if you want to. I never do, I find that it’s too minimal to count it. Also long term life wise it’s just too tedious.
Wow, that’s a big relief. Ketogenic Diet to helps me a lot with Spinal Cord regeneration after a traumatic injury and With your easy to make and relatable dishes, you are making it easy and enjoyable for me to stay in KD.Thank you <3
New subbie to your YT channel! I stumbled upon it while looking for keto recipes. This sounds yummy! I can’t wait to try some of your recipes.
Great recipes and loving all you’re videos. I’m 70 and I no longer crave sugar and carbs. Its real freedom for me. Thanks for all the keto lifestyle recipe’s
Made these tonight, all thighs all the time. My husband and I were confused by the order of psyllium then egg but we stuck to your rules and oh boy are was the chicken delicious! Thanks, Sahil!
Sahil, can these be made in an air-fryer?
Absolutely!
Both Irene and Amy asked if this could be cooked in an airfryer you told Irene the it could not be according to a Facebook person and now you tell Amy that it could so which is it yes or no I’m confused
haha sorry I haven’t been keeping track but I haven’t tried it in an air fryer, however I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I can’t promise it will be as good as I have no idea how things turn out in the air fryer 🙂 Maybe someone who tried it can leave a comment here saying whether it worked well or not 🙂
Hey Sahil! Great recipe! I just used an air fryer to test out your chicken! So heres the verdict. The first pass, I had 4 pieces of chicken thigh made to your instructions, but I added some mustard and vinegar to the marinade. I did the psyllium coat first then egg wash. The air fry came out Ok(rubbed some ghee on the tray). The coating was flaking off. I was doing research, and decided to try different coatings, and do the eggwash FIRST then “breading”. I used psyllium on 2 pieces, unflavored protein powder on 2, and 1 piece with ground pork rinds. I cooked it for 10 minutes, then flipped, and cooked another 5 at 400 degrees on the airfryer. So, not surprisingly, the psyllium came out the best, very crispy, and stayed on. The other 2 flaked, and the protein powder just was harder to work on after egg wash. Im thinking that next batch to add more spicing on the psyliium to get a more intense flavor.
Nice, thanks for sharing your experiments and results.
Tried this today Sahil. Turned out so well.
Thank you so much \m/
Hi can we use groundnut oil for deep frying in keto.
I would generally avoid it if you use regularly but one time or two times is not a big deal but it’s generally not advised on Keto as it’s a bad fat.
Dude this was crunchy and awesome ! I did brine the chicken based on John Legends recipe. That helps a lot. Additionally I forego the egg coating and it still turned out awesome.
I’m making this tomorrow, new subscriber. Made Paneer Makkanwallah today. Came out lovely
Hi sahil,
Should we use Regine olive oil or extra virgin olive oil or extra light olive oil for deep frying?
You should be able to get a Borges olive oil for cooking. Use that.
Hi Sahil, with a lot of keto recipes I’m struggling with getting my head around macro proportions. This recipe looks awesome and will be making it soon, however Fat 20g and protein 31g doesn’t seem to fit with the 70:20:5 fat:protein:carb split which I try to achieve.
Also isn’t all the fatty goodness in the skin ?
Thank you in advance for you help
You can keep the skin on. At the end of the day it’s the sum total of all the meals that should be in the BALL PARK of the ratios mentioned. In my case, chicken with skin is not easily available in India so I use without skin and I’ll adjust some meal later in the day to add more fat and it will eventually balance out. Remember KETOSIS is a metabolic state from the absence of carbs not the presence of fat. Cheers!
I have NOW brand psyllium husk powder. Will that work?
Any husk should work but I live in India so never had or seen or used that brand.