The Hot Selling KFC - Kerala's Own Fried Chicken

The Hot Selling KFC - Kerala's Own Fried Chicken

The whole of India would have discovered the love for fried chicken with the first outlet of KFC launched in Bangalore, two decades ago. But Malayali’s love  story with fried chicken began 70 years back ever since Abdul Khadar, a homegrown chef from a small village in Thiruvananthapuram, conceived a magical recipe to prepare the ‘spicy-licious’ fried chicken dish, fondly christened Kethel’s Fried Chicken. When Khader found his special fried chicken recipe became an instant hit among the localites of the village, he got the confidence to run a restaurant solely on this dish. Even today, you walk into a Kethel’s Fried  Chicken outlet, Hotel Rahmaniya, all that you will be served is this amazing delicacy which can be had with chapathi or ghee rice. Huffing and puffing occasionally, incessantly sipping the unlimited lime juice offered with every dish, men, women and children heartily bite in to the super-hot Kethel’s Chicken Fry. While many think it’s just their secret spice mix that makes the dish hugely popular, not many are aware that a special variety of chicken, called spring chicken is bred in their Coimbatore farms only for making the fried chicken. Mohammed Meeran, the son-in-law of the Khader’s grand daughter who runs the Kozhikode center reveals, “Every ingredient that goes into the making of the dish comes with uncompromised quality. Right from the feed given to the  chicken, to the oil used for frying, we make everything in-house. It is the  freshness of every ingredient used that contributes to the overall  superior taste of the dish.” Meeran explains one whole chicken that weighs roughly 400-500 gm (before dressing) is cooked for a single serving of fried chicken. “If the chicken weighs a little more than 500 gm, the taste of the dish will suffer. Therefore, we take that much care to ensure the quality of chicken is accurate to be used for cooking. Our chicken is 100 per cent hormone or injection-free and we use nothing but pure coconut oil for frying,” he confirms.

The first Rahmaniya outlet  established in 1949 at Chala, Thiruvananthapuram is maintained with its same age old charm. Inside the narrow lanes of the  busiest marketplace of the capital city, it will not be difficult to find this extremely small and simple restaurant which happens to be the most popular one  in the area since ages. While all other outlets have impressive interiors and air conditioned ambiences, this is the only one which still retains its authentic and rustic look. Unlike in all their other outlets, chicken pieces are served here by the elderly staff with their own bare hands onto fresh plantain leaves. Salted lemon pickle and a light chicken gravy are served alongside. One could choose to try the fried chicken with a chappathi combo or ghee rice combo. Liver fry comes at added costs. At their Kozhikode outlets, the hot chicken fry can be had with ‘nice pathiris’ (ultra thin flattened rice cakes), since the people of Kozhikode don’t prefer the accompaniment of chappathi. A special biriyani made with the fried chicken is also served here. Even today, the recipe of the dish is a top secret known only to the family members of Abdul Khader. The spice mix for marinating the chicken is prepared in the family kitchen and sent to all their outlets across the state. At the restaurant kitchen, crushed dry chillies and rock salt are freshly added to the spice mix and applied to the chicken half an hour before frying. On request, the spiciness of the mixture is reduced, especially for children. 

Rahmania Kethel’s Fried Chicken is present in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kollam. With one combo roughly costing around Rs 200, this legendary dish is definitely worth trying and an experience in itself.