04-07-2025
AirFryday: Chutney chicken comes to the air fryer
That rack at the bottom of an air fryer basket doesn't have to stay in the machine for every meal. For this chutney chicken recipe, take it out and use the 'basket' as a pot.
The more you use a machine, the more you get to know it, and the more you get to know an air fryer, the more you realise it's a sort of pot with an element in it. Kind of a two-in-one deal.
That rack at the base of it is there to improve air circulation, and an air fryer is largely about hot air being blown around. If there's a rack, the hot air can reach the underside of the food on the rack.
Essentially, in a pot on the hob, the heat is underneath it, while in an air fryer the element is above. But you can turn the food over, in some cases, and this applies to chicken portions, or for that matter to a whole chicken.
You need to keep your eye on the top of what's cooking to know when it's time to turn it over. You could rely on your machine to tell you it's time to turn the food over, and it does do that, but you're the cook, you're in charge, so you can make up your own mind.
Key to this is that you can open the drawer or door of the air fryer any time you want to. Just open it, have a look and/or prod the meat, and either turn it over or wait for a while. As with cooking in a pot or a roasting pan in the big old oven, the food is done when it's done, not when the machine says so.
The key components of the sauce that constitutes the 'chutney' part of chutney chicken are not only chutney itself, but mayonnaise and tomato sauce/ketchup. A dash of Worcestershire sauce is a natural fit too.
But we can take this further: I added a splash of soy sauce as well, and then decided it needed some brandy. It was the combination of ketchup and mayo that made me think of a Marie-Rose sauce, usually used for avocado Ritz or variations on a theme of a cold starter such as prawns or medallions of lobster in a spiked cold sauce. It's the brandy that makes a Marie-Rose sauce.
So I poured a little brandy into this sauce, tasted it and was happy with the result. You could use Old Brown Sherry instead, or port for that matter.
Traditionally, there's grated onion in it, and I added garlic as well. I made some yellow rice to go with it, mostly because it's a good-looking match, but the turmeric in it does also suit the flavour profile. Chopped coriander makes a nice garnish.
Tony's air fryer chutney chicken
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
½ cup Mrs HS Ball's chutney
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup tomato sauce
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp brandy (or more, I used 2)
1 Tbsp garlic paste
1 small onion, grated
8 chicken thighs and drumsticks
fresh coriander, to garnish
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Turmeric rice
Cucumber and spring onion raita:
⅔ cup diced peeled cucumber
3 slim spring onions
1 fat garlic clove
⅔ cup double cream Greek yoghurt
2 Tbsp white grape vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Method
Mix the chutney, mayo and tomato sauce in a bowl. Add the grated onion and garlic, and the Worcestershire sauce, soy and brandy. Season with salt and black pepper. Roll the chicken portions around in it and marinate for 1 hour or more.
Remove the rack from the bottom of the air fryer basket. Spray the base with cooking oil spray, or brush some oil over it.
Arrange the chicken pieces in it, skin side up, with some of the sauce.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C. Turn the chicken over.
Add the remaining marinade. Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken again.
Turn the heat up to 200°C and bake for another 5 minutes.
Test for doneness by inserting a skewer or slicing into a piece of chicken to the bone, to see if it's pink at the centre.
To go with it I made a simple cucumber and spring onion raita, mixed with chilled yoghurt and finished with a splash of vinegar and salt and pepper.
For turmeric rice, make rice in your usual way, but add ½ a teaspoon of ground turmeric to the pot. Garnish with coriander. DM
Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award, in 2021 and 2023.
