Indian Chicken Nuggets

A picture of Indian Chicken Nuggets sitting next to a bowl of Hot & Sweet sauce.

These savory, homemade Indian Chicken Nuggets will change the way you eat.

Indian Chicken Nuggets

This Indian Chicken Nugget recipe is my Mom’s invention. It’s fun, generally easy, and can do wonders for satisfying a chicken nugget craving right at home! These are a little bit different than your average chicken nugget – we’ll be adding a few seasonings to give some additional pep to the chicken but they are still very kid-friendly (see: my obsession with these as a kid). These work great as an appetizer, side dish, or to incorporate protein into so so many recipes!

Why You Should Make This:

  • It’s useful in lots of recipes – plain with dipping sauce, chicken parmesan, sandwiches, tossed-over salad, and TACOS! If you feel like adding some chicken nuggets to it (or shredded, fried chicken), these little guys are ready to help.
  • Minimal ingredients – we’re looking at about 4-5 spices, breadcrumbs, eggs, chicken, and oil. Personally, I usually have all these ingredients on hand.
  • Healthy-ish – While I can’t boast TOO hard, I’d like to argue that these are most likely a bit healthier than the chicken nuggets you would get at your average fast food chain.

Process:

Start by prepping your materials. I like to cut the chicken breast into bite-size pieces and season them with salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and a very quick dash of cinnamon. Then, in a separate bowl, beat two eggs. Finally, we’ll have one final bowl with breadcrumbs.

A picture of marinating chicken breast in a bowl, egg yolk in a second bowl, and italian bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Feast your eyes on the crucial assembly line.

Next, we’ll pour some oil into a deep, wide pan and heat. We want to make sure the oil gets nice and hot here – it’ll help the chicken cook evenly and quickly. I like to pour the oil so that when a chicken piece is set into it, the oil will cover the bottom half of the piece.

A picture of oil in a pan.

Be sure to heat the oil to a high temperature.

Now we get to use our assembly line! Grab a piece of seasoned chicken, dunk it into the egg, coat it with breadcrumbs, and carefully set it into the hot oil. I typically do this in batches so that the pan doesn’t get overcrowded. Allow the chicken pieces to cook for about 3 minutes before turning over to brown the other side for an additional 3 minutes. This amount of time will ensure the chicken is cooked through but, if you’d like the chicken breading to be darker, it can be left in for a bit longer to obtain that color. These guys will definitely not dry out but they can/will burn!

A picture of Indian Chicken Nuggets frying in oil.

Make sure to flip your Indian Chicken Nuggets while they are frying.

Once cooked on both sides, remove to a plate with some paper towel on it to help drain the oil off a bit. Once they’re all cooked up, you can serve them immediately or add them to the recipe of your choice!

A picture of homemade Indian Chicken Nuggets on a plate.

I suggest placing the chicken nuggets on a paper towel to cool and collect excess oil.

If you’re looking for a dessert to make after this savory treat, then I suggest my Frozen Mango Lime Pie.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! Hashtag them #thehappyhaandi. And tag me @thehappyhaandi.

Indian Chicken Nuggets

A lightly spiced chicken nugget recipe!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine American, Indian
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • 1 Pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 lbs Chicken Breast (diced)
  • 1 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 cup Italian Style Breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1 Pinch Cinnamon Powder

Instructions
 

For the Chicken Nuggets:

  • Start out by marinating the chicken with the seasonings - salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and cinnamon powder.
  • In a bowl, beat the eggs. Then keep your breadcrumbs in a separate bowl. You should now have 3 different bowls for the chicken, the eggs, and the breadcrumbs.
  • Next, we'll start frying! Add the vegetable oil to a deep saute pan. The oil should cover approximately half of an average bite-size chicken piece from your batch. Allow the oil to heat until it is VERY hot.
  • Now to start adding the chicken, first grab a piece of chicken, coat it in the egg, then breadcrumbs, then into the oil. Repeat until you've filled the pan but be sure not to overcrowd the pan.
  • Give the chicken pieces about 3 minutes to brown on each side. For a total of 6 minutes overall. Once a piece is done, remove it to a paper-towel-lined plate.
  • Repeat, in batches, until all the chicken is fried.
  • Serve immediately with sauce or add to your favorite recipe!!
Keyword Chicken, Chicken Breast, Nuggets
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