Crispy Curried Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

I made this recipe the other night, but I'm going to have to make it again soon. Not that I messed it up or anything, but I was afflicted with some nasty allergies when I made this for dinner and my stopped up nose wasn't working too well. Therefore, this meal ended up tasting really muted. It still tasted good, but I need another go at it when I'm not sickly.

Crispy Curried Chicken Tenders with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
ACTIVE: 45 MIN
SERVINGS: 4
Ingredients
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cups loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups panko
2 pounds chicken tenders
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
In a food processor, blend the mayonnaise with the cilantro and lemon juice until the cilantro is finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate the dipping sauce until ready to serve.

In a small bowl, combine the curry powder with the cayenne and 1 tablespoon of salt. Put the flour, eggs and panko in 3 shallow bowls. Stir 2 teaspoons of the curry powder mixture into the panko. Season the chicken tenders with the remaining curry powder mixture.

Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour and shake off any excess, then dip them in the eggs and coat thoroughly with the panko mixture. In a large skillet, heat half of the oil until shimmering. Add half of the chicken tenders and fry over moderate heat until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken tenders. Serve with the cilantro dipping sauce.

Aside from the stopped up nose and somewhat bland taste, I think this would have been really good under different circumstances. The seasoning is what didn't register as much as it normally would have, but the panko made for a wonderfully crunchy texture and they weren't oily and greasy like you would normally find things cooked in oil. A hot pan of oil and the panko really make the difference here.





This dish came together really easily. I think I still might add more curry powder to my next attempt. There needed to be a little more of a punch than what I got when I ate them. Also, this Cilantro Dipping Sauce. I have an aversion to mayonnaise that causes me extreme distress when I have to eat said substance in any form other than chicken salad or potato salad. Even then, you had better go lean on the stuff. Therefore, I could not, in good conscience, whip up a dipping sauce that called for that much mayo, and even halved with 1/2 cup I could not bring myself to do it. So I ate them plain, and they were still fine (albeit bland). I tried to dip them in ranch dressing but that was not good, so they stayed plain.

I'll make this again when I'm feeling better. Also, I get the feeling this is a little better for you than all out fried chicken because you're not using as much of the oil - just a little. Also, I used whole wheat panko, so that's double on the healthy score. Thumbs up all around.