Tamarind-spiced chicken wings

TO MARK Weekend magazine’s Silver Jubilee, we’ve asked Britain’s most popular celebrity chefs from the past 25 years to share their favourite recipes. Today, we continue with Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay’s brilliant collection of family dishes. Gordon’s TV career started with Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the fiery Hell’s Kitchen in 2004. Since then, he has appeared in numerous cooking shows while running his restaurant empire.

THIS IS one of my iconic restaurant dishes which, despite the slightly daunting number of ingredients, isn’t complicated to cook at home. The key to the sweetand-sour sauce is the tamarind; it adds a distinctive tang to the sauce that is completely delicious. SERVES 6-8 ● 1kg chicken wings, rinsed and patted dry ● 80g plain flour ● Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

FOR THE MARINADE

● 1 large egg ● 2 tsp paprika ● 1 tsp ground cumin ● ½ tsp ground coriander ● ½ tsp garam masala ● ½ tsp Dijon mustard ● 1 tsp vegetable oil

FOR THE TAMARIND SAUCE

● 1 tsp dried chilli flakes ● 2 tsp fennel or caraway seeds ● 2 tsp cumin seeds ● 2 tsp coriander seeds ● 2 tbsp vegetable oil ● 1 large white onion, sliced ● 2 tbsp tomato puree ● 50g light soft brown sugar ● 75g runny honey ● 4 tbsp tomato ketchup ● 5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce ● 4 tbsp white wine vinegar ● 3 tbsp tamarind paste (from a jar) ● 1 litre good-quality chicken stock ● Sea salt

TO GARNISH

● 4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal

● Torn fresh coriander leaves FoR the marinade, beat the egg in a big bowl, mix in the spices, mustard and oil and add the chicken wings, stirring to coat. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for 1 hour, or overnight. For the tamarind sauce, place a dry frying pan over a medium heat and when hot, add the chilli flakes and all the seeds and heat for 1-2 minutes to release the aromas. Remove from the heat and crush to a coarse powder using a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6-8 minutes. Stir in the crushed spices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, then the tomato puree, and cook for 1-2 minutes more, stirring. Add the sugar, honey, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tamarind paste and chicken stock and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, until the sauce has reduced slightly.

Pass the sauce through a fine sieve set over a saucepan, pressing it with a wooden spoon. Discard the onion pulp. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let it bubble, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt, if needed, and keep warm.

Remove the marinated chicken from the fridge. Season the flour with salt, and lightly coat each wing with it. Heat a deep-fat fryer to 180c or fill a big saucepan one-third full of oil and heat until a cube of bread dropped in the oil sizzles and turns golden in 30 seconds.

Deep-fry the wings (in 2-3 batches) in the oil over a medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, until cooked through and golden all over. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. keep warm in a low oven as you cook the rest.

once all the chicken wings are cooked, coat them in warm tamarind sauce, then pile on to a serving platter. Garnish with the spring onions and chopped coriander and serve with the remaining sauce.