How To Make Chef Vineet Bhatia's Signature Palms Fried Chicken

In the third episode of Culinary Masters, Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia prepares his signature Palms Fried Chicken for Robb Report India, a recipe that reflects both the remarkable trajectory of his career and his enduring belief that the most memorable dishes often begin with a personal story.

Vineet Bhatia has long approached Indian cuisine with the curiosity of an explorer. Few chefs have done more to reshape the global conversation around Indian food, challenging expectations while remaining deeply respectful of its foundations. His cooking neither chases novelty nor rests on nostalgia. Instead, it finds its footing in the space where memory, technique and imagination meet, allowing familiar flavours to reveal themselves in entirely unexpected ways.

When Bhatia arrived in London in 1993, he carried little more than a suitcase of cookery books, an unwavering ambition and an instinctive understanding of Indian cuisine. What followed was a career that would redefine the possibilities of modern Indian dining. As the first Indian chef-patron to be awarded a Michelin star, he has opened acclaimed restaurants across the world, authored celebrated cookbooks and brought his distinctive culinary perspective to audiences far beyond the restaurant. Yet his appetite for reinvention extends well beyond the kitchen, whether serving an intimate meal at Everest Base Camp or crafting gourmet Indian cuisine aboard an expedition voyage to Antarctica.

Today, Chef continues to champion a style of cooking that is unmistakably his own. For him, classical technique sits comfortably alongside bold reinterpretation. Palms Fried Chicken is no exception. Inspired by his time at Palms, the much-loved coffee shop at The Oberoi, New Delhi, it revisits a familiar comfort dish with thoughtful substitutions and refined craftsmanship, proving that the most enduring recipes are those willing to evolve.

The Recipe — Palms Fried Chicken

Ingredients

For the chicken

• Chicken breast

• Buttermilk (or kachi lassi)

• Breadcrumbs

• Cornflour

• Salt

• White sesame seeds

• Black sesame seeds

• Degi mirch

• Oil, for frying

For the accompaniments

• Burnt garlic

• Thick yoghurt

• Tomatoes

• Honey

• Jaggery

• Punjabi kali dal

• Homemade dal moth

• Beetroot cress

Method

1. Marinate the chicken overnight in buttermilk or kachi lassi until tender.

2. Prepare the coating by combining breadcrumbs, cornstarch, salt, white and black sesame seeds, and a generous pinch of degi mirch.

3. Coat each chicken breast lightly in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing gently to ensure an even crust.

4. Fry until crisp, golden and cooked through.

5. For the accompaniment, mix burnt garlic with thick yoghurt to create a smoky alternative to mayonnaise.

6. Prepare the tomato relish by slow-cooking tomatoes over a gentle heat before finishing with honey and jaggery.

7. Garnish the yoghurt with beetroot cress.

8. Serve the fried chicken alongside Punjabi kali dal in place of fries, finish with homemade dal moth, and accompany with the burnt garlic yoghurt and slow-cooked tomato relish.