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The holidays are upon us and you might be looking for some special appetizers to serve your loved ones. These Indo-Chinese Drumsticks truly are Drums of Heaven, and they’re going to be the star of the show!
We’ve got crunchy fried drumsticks that’s bursting with flavor from an Indo-Chinese marinade. You’ll learn how to cut your chicken legs into lollipops, how to make the marinade, and how to fry the chicken drumsticks. We’ll also make a quick and easy sauce where you’ll toss these drumsticks to achieve mouthwatering drums of heaven!
If you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, then you know the month of November has focused on delicious fried snacks! We’ve explored Crispy Aloo Tikki Chaat, McDonald’s India McAloo Tikki Burger, Buffalo Chicken Nachos with Popcorn Chicken and Crispy Paneer Pakora. My free guide, Make Cooking Fun!, goes into detail about how having a theme can spark your creativity in the kitchen and really give you a push! I love Indo-Chinese cooking and chicken lollipop is a dish that I’ve never actually tried in India before (raised a vegetarian and when I did eat meat butter chicken and chicken tikka were my go-tos!), but I’ve seen a lot online and they totally looked delicious. After lots of drooling at my screen, it was finally time to make these - this fried snacks month was the perfect occasion! Now I see where the dish’s name comes from!
If you’ve always wanted to try this Indo-Chinese staple, then be sure to cross these drums of heaven off your bucket list as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge! You can get the challenge and my motivational guide by signing up to my newsletter, plus you’ll get all my new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
Be sure to watch the video to follow along and grasp all the concepts presented in this recipe! Let’s get cooking!
What Is Chicken Lollipop?▼
The dish has this name because the chicken drumsticks have been cut and the skin at the bottom has been removed to reveal the bone. The chicken drumstick looks like a lollipop! In India, these are a popular appetizer at restaurants and they are also served street-side.
What’s the Difference between Chicken Lollipop and Drums of Heaven?▼
The term is used interchangeably in restaurants, however, there is a small difference. “Drums of heaven” means that you toss your fried lollipops in a spicy sauce, resulting in a semi-dry gravy coating your chicken drumsticks. We’ll actually be making drums of heaven here! If you want just the “lollipops”, then feel free to skip the sauce steps.
Why You’ll Love This Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Recipe!
- Fun to eat: If you’re a drumstick lover, then you’ll adore these! In fact, you’ll see that lollipops are even easier to eat than regular drumsticks because of the skin removed at the bone.
- Insanely flavorful: This chicken has wonderful Indo-Chinese flavors coming from the marinade and from the sauce.
- Crispy skin: Who doesn’t love some amazing fried chicken? These Drums of Heaven will be deep fried to perfection! If you’re worried about deep frying then fear not! I’ll guide you through the entire process step by step so you can fry with ease, and you’ll see how much fun it is to deep fry!
- Saucy: I love some awesome saucy chicken! The drums will be lathered up in it, and you can dip your drums with even more sauce if you’d like! There’ll be plenty left over in the pan!
What Does “Frenching” the Chicken Leg Mean?▼
“Frenching” the chicken leg means removing the skin at the bottom to reveal the bone. It helps making the chicken leg easier and honestly it’s just to achieve the “lollipop” look! This can even be done with chicken wing pieces.
I didn’t know this until researching this recipe, but in India you can actually buy cuts of chicken which are “lollipops,” where this process has already been done for you. I’ve never actually purchased chicken in India before as my family is vegetarian so I had no clue! If you have the option of buying the lollipop chicken, then feel free to do so to save some time and a mess - this is a bit tedious!
Equipment Needed for Drums of Heaven
- Mixing bowl
- Wok
- Grater
- Chef’s knife
- Cutting board
- Thermometer
- Slotted spoon
- Wire rack
- Non-stick pan
- Tongs
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Scissors
- Ramekin (to dip more sauce!)
Tips & Tricks for Lip-Smacking Drums of Heaven
- While frenching the chicken, pat the chicken dry and use a paper towel to grip the chicken to make it easier to prepare.
- Make sure the oil is not too hot (375F and up). This will cause the crust to develop too quickly and not give the chicken skin the time it needs to render out and become crispy.
- Once the chicken has been added, adjust the heat as necessary to ensure the breading does not brown too quickly. The chicken should always be gently sizzling.
- Keep the sauce warm to ensure the sauce coats the warm chicken well and keeps it warm.
- Do a test piece of chicken to make sure your oil is hot and to allow you to get the hang of the frying!
Ingredients for Drums of Heaven
Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD to see all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how many lollipops you’re planning to prepare, and the ingredient quantities will automatically adjust for you! No need to mentally calculate ratios!
For the Chicken
- Chicken drumsticks
- Soy sauce
- Kashmiri Mirch
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- All purpose flour
- Corn starch
- Vegetable oil for frying
For the Sauce
How to Make Indo-Chinese Drums of Heaven
To Prepare the Chicken
Pat the chicken dry and then prepare the lollipops by "frenching" the chicken, exposing the bone on one end and pushing any meat towards the meaty side. Cut away any excess skin/tendon pieces using sharp kitchen shears.
Add the chicken to a large bowl and add ginger, garlic, Kashmiri Mirch, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Once the marination is done, heat vegetable oil to around 350 F for shallow frying or deep frying in a wok or pot. To the chicken, add the flour and cornstarch and mix well until you see crumbs on the breading.
To Make the Sauce
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
To Make the Drums of Heaven
Carefully, transfer each breaded chicken to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the chicken every 2-3 minutes to ensure even color on each side.
Once the chicken is added, the oil temperature should drop to 300F, adjust heat as required to ensure the oil maintains this temperature.
After 12-18 minutes, check some of the chicken pieces to see if the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken is 165F. For any pieces that are under and the outer breading is golden brown, transfer the pieces on the middle rack of an oven heated at 350 F and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Once the chicken is ready, toss them with the sauce until coated well.
Garnish with green onions, serve hot and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
These Indo-Chinese Drumsticks are typically served with an appetizer, so you can enjoy them with pretty much any main! If you’d like, you can serve them with Restaurant-Style French Fries because you’ll already have oil ready to go! Otherwise, feel free to enjoy them with simple Steamed Rice and maybe some Sautéed Garlic-Butter Broccoli if you want to make these the protein for a satisfying meal!
Plan for the Marinade: the Real Total Time
The hands-on work here is under an hour, but the total time is closer to 170 minutes because of the marinade. The drumsticks need at least 2 hours in the fridge with the minced ginger and garlic, 1 tbsp of red chili powder, 3 tbsp of soy sauce, salt and pepper, and overnight is better still. Start it the night before and everything after that moves quickly.
One thing worth being firm about: do not reuse the remaining marinade. It has been sitting on raw chicken for hours, which is exactly why the sauce in this recipe is built separately from fresh ingredients. Tip the marinade away, then add the flour and cornstarch straight to the drained chicken in the same bowl so the coating grips the marinade still clinging to the skin.
Frying, Then the Glaze
Heat the vegetable oil to around 350 F. The moment the chicken goes in the temperature will drop to roughly 300 F, and holding it there is the whole game. Turn the pieces every 2 to 3 minutes and give them 12 to 18 minutes, until the thickest part of the meat reads 165 F. Line a tray with foil to rest them on for easy clean up, and if some pieces are golden outside but not quite cooked through, finish them on the middle rack of a 350 F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
The sauce comes together while the chicken fries. Pour the passata, chili garlic sauce, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and minced garlic into a separate pan, stir well, and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Never let it boil. There are 3 to 4 tbsp of honey in there and it will catch and turn bitter. Cook it only until it thickens slightly into a glaze that coats the back of a spoon, then take it off the heat and toss the chicken through while both are still hot.
Variations, Sides and Storage
Green onions are the garnish the recipe calls for, and a scattering of toasted sesame seeds echoes the sesame oil already in the sauce. Serve it with something to cut the richness, whether that is steamed or stir-fried vegetables or plain rice, because between the coating and the honey the carbs mount up. Most of the carbohydrates here come from the flour-and-cornstarch crust and the honey rather than from the chicken itself, so a lighter side balances the plate.
This is not a gluten free dish as written, since the coating uses 1 cup of all-purpose flour and both the marinade and the sauce use soy sauce. Both are fixable: swap in tamari or coconut aminos, and drop the flour in favor of cornstarch alone or a rice flour and cornstarch mix, which fries up just as crisp. Leftovers keep for 2 to 3 days in the fridge, but sauce only the pieces you plan to eat and store the rest bare. A glazed drumstick goes soft overnight, while a plain fried one crisps straight back up in the oven or air fryer.
Other Delicious Chicken Snacks!
- Korean Popcorn Chicken
- Crispy Buttermilk Southern Fried Chicken
- Homemade Panko Chicken Nuggets
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
- Juicy Air Fryer Buffalo Wings
- Spicy Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Wings
Other Indo-Chinese Recipes
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Crispy, saucy Indo-Chinese Chicken Lollipop Drumsticks — the ultimate party starter. Bold flavors, irresistible crunch. Your new favorite appetizer awaits.
Deep-fried
Rate this recipe ✦
30 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
2 hr
Rest
2 hr 50 min
Total
7
drumsticks
hard
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
For the chicken
Instructions
- 1
Pat the chicken dry and then prepare the lollipops by "frenching" the chicken, exposing the bone on one end and pushing any meat towards the meaty side. Cut away any excess skin/tendon pieces using sharp kitchen shears.
Pat the chicken dry and then prepare the lollipops by "frenching" the chicken, exposing the bone on one end and pushing any meat towards the meaty side. Cut away any excess skin/tendon pieces using sharp kitchen shears.
- 2
Add the chicken to a large bowl and add ginger, garlic, red chili powder, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Add the chicken to a large bowl and add ginger, garlic, red chili powder, soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Marinate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
- 3
Once the marinating is done, heat vegetable oil to around 350 F for shallow frying or deep frying in a wok or pot. To the chicken add the flour and cornstarch and mix well until you see crumbs on the breading.
Once the marinating is done, heat vegetable oil to around 350°F (177°C) for shallow frying or deep frying in a wok or pot. To the chicken add the flour and cornstarch and mix well until you see crumbs on the breading.
- 4
Carefully, transfer each breaded chicken to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the chicken every 2-3 minutes to ensure even color on each side.
Carefully, transfer each breaded chicken to the oil and fry until crispy golden brown outside, make sure to turn the chicken every 2-3 minutes to ensure even color on each side.
- 5
Once the chicken is added, the oil temperature should drop to 300°F; adjust heat as required to ensure the oil maintains this temperature.
Once the chicken is added, the oil temperature should drop to 300°F (149°C); adjust heat as required to ensure the oil maintains this temperature.
- 6
After 12-18 minutes, check some of the chicken pieces to see if the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken is 165°F. For any pieces that are under and the outer breading is golden brown, transfer the pieces to the middle rack of an oven heated at 350°F and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
After 12-18 minutes, check some of the chicken pieces to see if the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chicken is 165°F (74°C). For any pieces that are under and the outer breading is golden brown, transfer the pieces to the middle rack of an oven heated at 350°F (177°C) and cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
- 7
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
While the chicken is frying, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a separate pan. Whisk well and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until slightly thickened and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- 8
Once the chicken is ready, toss them with the sauce until coated well.
Once the chicken is ready, toss them with the sauce until coated well.
- 9
Garnish with green onions, serve hot and enjoy!
Garnish with green onions, serve hot and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
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