A hit by default, this old favourite is always willing to lend itself to experiments. And if you’re worried about the calories, console yourself with the thought that it’s white meat after all. So, onwards for some sumptuous sin.

Fried chicken can be made more interesting with different coatings and a few quick shortcuts. You can dip the chicken alternately in milk and flour twice to ensure a thick coating. Or you can dip it in milk, egg and bread crumbs, cornflakes or even oats to get that crispy crust.

Quick tips:

Marinate the chicken for a few hours before cooking it and keep it at room temperature.

For a crisp crust, allow chicken pieces to dry for 20 minutes after coating.

Make sure that the oil is hot enough to prevent the oil from being absorbed.

Use peanut oil, which has a hotter smoking point than vegetable oils.

Drain right after removing the chicken from the pan. After all, what good is a crisp crust if it just gets soggy in a pool of oil?

fried chicken

Ingredients: 3 lbs chicken pieces; 11/2 cups of milk; salt and pepper to taste; a pinch of paprika; 1 cup flour for dredging; peanut oil for frying

Method: Wash the chicken pieces and pat dry. Dip them in milk and place on a plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika and dredge in flour. Set aside for 20 minutes. Dredge in flour again. Heat the oil in a pan. Put in the chicken in small batches and brown evenly. When the last batch is browned, put all the pieces back in the pan, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. When they brown evenly, remove the cover and turn the heat to medium-high to re-crisp the chicken. Keep turning the pieces to crisp them evenly. Drain and serve immediately.