This restaurant-style Chicken 65 is a crispy Indian deep-fried appetizer or a full meal served with naan! The marinade consists of Indian spices and curry leaves so if you have 24 hours to marinate it, the resulting dish is deeply flavorful and aromatic. Chicken 65 is a crowd-pleasing appetizer at Indian restaurants and parties.
One of my favorite desi chicken dishes is Chicken 65 for it's bold flavor and deep red color from the mild chili powder. This seems to be a running pattern with popular Indian chicken dishes, i.e. butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, and tandoori chicken are all vibrantly red! I especially love the quirky origin story surrounding this dish.
There are several ways to make Chicken 65, the most popular styles being Hyderbadi, Andhra, and Indo-Chinese. The recipe I'm sharing is the style I've seen at most restaurants.
The chicken is deep fried after it's marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and spices. It's then tossed in a dry spicy tadka for additional color and the breading is especially crispy. Let's not forget my favorite part - the delicious, crunchy curry leaves in the tadka.
It's great for sharing with friends over beers for a game day snack. Or, my favorite with fresh fluffy naan, red onions, and a yogurt-based sauce to counteract the heat.
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
This is India's version of fried popcorn chicken, and it's truly a must try! In this recipe, I'll guide you on how to make it extremely flavorful and crispy.
- Chicken 65 is mostly seen as a starter snack to be shared, but you can absolutely make it a full meal! I love it with naan, raita, cucumbers, and pickled red onions as a wrap.
- This appetizer is quick to whip up in a short time frame or great for making ahead of a party. It can be marinated for 24 hours so that it's especially flavorful.
- While deep frying in oil is delicious, it can also be air fried until crispy.
What is Chicken 65?
Chicken 65 is a spicy, South Indian fried chicken dish which is served as an appetizer or entrée. The flavor mainly comes from mild red chilis and curry leaves. It's most commonly enjoyed as a snack, shared amongst friends. It can also be served as a whole meal with roti or naan.
The way it's prepared varies greatly by region, with the most notable versions being Andhra-style and Hyderabadi-style. In these variants, the Chicken 65 gravy is made after frying the chicken and uses dahi so that it's tangy. Many variants also have flares of Indo-Chinese flavors, with soy sauce, egg, and ketchup.
You'd be surprised at how different it tastes across restaurants in India, and even the United States. There's really no right way to prepare it, so I like to keep it straightforward with the ingredients and focus on the flavor.
It has a funky origin story - most of them attributed to Hotel Buhari in Chennai, India. But some of them say that it's called Chicken 65 because it was the 65th dish on the menu, or it was marinated for 65 days, or even that it uses 65 ingredients.
The list goes on and on - with more absurd stories like it was made from 65-day old chickens, 65 different types of chilis, or that it was created in 1965 for soldiers.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
There are two sets of ingredients during the marination and tadka steps. Most of them overlap but maximizes the flavor in both steps.
Chicken 65 Marinade
- Chicken - It's crucial to use chicken thighs, not chicken breast. It's easy to overcook chicken breast to where it's dry and sinewy with this dish. Chicken 65 is first fried, then tossed in a tadka which makes the fatty thighs very forgiving. For vegetarian variants, try Paneer 65 or this Roasted Cauliflower 65.
- Dahi - Translates to curd, is cultured milk that is boiled, frothed, and mixed with a starter to make an Indian-style yogurt in the Indian subcontinent. The dahi in the marinade balances out the chili powder. Substitute it with plain whole milk yogurt.
- Ginger garlic paste - Ginger garlic paste is very common to Indian cuisine. Substitute it with finely minced garlic and ginger in a 1-to-1 ratio.
- Spices - The spices for Chicken 65 marinade are kashmiri chili powder, turmeric, salt, pepper, cumin powder, and garam masala. Kashmiri chili powder is a mild chili powder that lends the natural bright red color, without any food coloring necessary. A little bit of turmeric adds additional color. Everyone has their own blend of spices. In fact, you can also purchase boxed Chicken 65 Masala blends.
- Curry Leaves - Curry leaves, also known as kadi patta in Hindi or sweet neem leaves, are an aromatic herb found on tropical curry trees which are native to Asia, specifically the Indian subcontinent. There's no substitute. It's used in the marinade to really permeate the chicken with its flavor along with the chili powder. Curry leaves can easily be found fresh at Indian grocers and even come in bundles on Etsy. Dried curry leaves also work.
- Flours - This dish is gluten-free, and we're using corn starch and rice flour to get the crispy fried chicken. The rice flour can be substituted with all-purpose flour.
Frying and Tadka
For frying the chicken, you'll just need any neutral oil of preference.
The tadka, or tempering, portion requires a tablespoon of a fat like olive oil or ghee to roast the ginger garlic paste, green chilis (like serranos), kashmiri chili powder, and curry leaves.
This is where the curry leaves will get extra crispy and crunchy. The kashmiri chili powder will redden the chicken again, since it becomes a bit brown-ish after frying.
How to make Chicken 65
There are three main steps to making a very flavorful, restaurant-style Chicken 65.
- Marinate the Chicken
- Fry the Chicken
- Toss the Chicken in a Spicy Tadka
Each step is crucial for maximum flavor, crisp, and getting the deep red color on the finished product.
So, let's break it down.
1. Marinate the Chicken
To marinate the chicken, add the dahi, ginger garlic paste, kashmiri chili powder, cumin powder, turmeric, garam masala, black pepper, and salt to a mixing bowl.
Remove the curry leaves from the sprig and layer them on top of each other. Chop them as evenly as possible with a sharp knife. Mix them in with the marinade.
Next, prepare the chicken. Trim the extra fat from chicken thighs. Pat the chicken dry. Slice the chicken into about 1-inch cubes. Add them to the marinade and toss it all together.
Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and allow it to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes, but ideally for 24 hours for the most robust flavors. I tried it both ways, and the 24-hour marination was significantly more flavorful and worth the wait!
When you're ready to fry, add the rice flour and corn starch into the bowl with the chicken and toss it all together so that the flour mixes with the thick yogurt-based marinade. It'll form a dry batter that's perfect for frying.
Note: If it's still too wet, add a half tablespoon of rice flour and corn flour at a time until the chicken is well coated.
2. Fry the Chicken
When you're ready to fry the chicken, pour neutral oil into a wide, deep pot so that it's around 3 inches high. Turn the heat on medium, and measure the temperature until it gets to 350°F.
I like to drop a small piece of the batter into the oil to test if it's hot enough. If it bubbling vigorously and floats to the top, the oil is ready for frying.
While waiting for the oil to get hot, place a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Then, carefully drop in 10-15 pieces of chicken using tongs or your hands. Leave plenty of space between each piece so they don't get stuck together.
Once the chicken has started browning, after about 2 minutes, use a slotted spoon to gently give them a toss so each side gets crispy. Fry for another 2-3 minutes, for a total of 5-6 minutes depending on the size of the chicken cubes.
Pro Tip: You don't want to do this too early, otherwise the breading will fall off. The chicken fries up really fast but will be a deep reddish-brown when it's done.
Transfer the chicken to the cooling rack and allow it to drain off the oil. Get started on the next batch of chicken.
Pro Tip: To get the chicken even crispier, you can twice fry them as well! By now, the oil will also get a little reddish from the chili powder so it'll deepen the flavor. Add the chicken back into the oil in batches. This time, fry them for no more than a minute and return them back to the cooling rack.
3. Toss the Chicken in Tadka
The tadka is my favorite part because it allows you to get an extra layer of flavor on the chicken. However, if you taste the chicken and you love it, you can stop here and serve it.
While the chicken drains the excess oil, get started on the tadka. A tadka is tempering or blooming spices in a fat to get maximum flavor. Slice the chili peppers at a diagonal and remove the curry leaves from the stem.
In a skillet or wok, add about a tablespoon of oil or ghee on low to medium heat. Let it pool to one side, and then add in sliced chilis, kashmiri chili powder, ginger garlic paste, and curry leaves.
Fry them until the curry leaves get nice and crispy which will take around a minute or two. Be sure to keep stirring with a small spatula so that the chili powder doesn't burn.
Then, add the fried chicken back into the pan with the tadka. Toss everything completely so it coats the chicken. The skin of the chicken will be a brilliant deep red. This only needs a minute or two to rewarm the chicken before it's ready to serve.
Air Fryer Chicken 65
To make Chicken 65 in an air fryer, drop all the chicken in the air fryer basket with a generous spray of oil and cook it at 350°F for 6-8 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and it's crispy. Open the basket and drop in the sliced chilis and curry leaves. Toss it and then cook it for an additional 2-4 minutes until the curry leaves are crispy.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- It's worth marinating the chicken for 24 hours, or at least overnight. The flavors are so much bolder than a quick 30 minute marination time.
- If you're a beginner to tempering, or a tadka - It's easier to start with all the tadka ingredients plus oil in the pan at room temperature and letting everything get hot together at the same time. The water content in the ginger garlic paste and curry leaves can cause splattering in the oil, so be sure to have a lid close by to prevent oil burns.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. It can be served as a snack amongst friends and families, or as an appetizer. For this, it's great to use appetizer picks.
My favorite way to serve Chicken 65 is with fresh naan and cilantro-mint chutney or curry leaf ranch for dinner. Cut up slices of red onion and serve with lemon wedges.
Store the chicken in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. To rewarm it, toss it in a heated skillet until warmed through. It can also be reheated in an air fryer at 375°F for 4 minutes or in the oven at 375°F for 7-8 minutes.
More Chicken Recipes to try
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Chicken 65
Equipment
- Wok or Heavy Bottom Pot for frying
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1.75 lbs chicken thighs
- ¼ cup dahi
- 1.5 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped
- 2.5 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoon rice flour
For Frying
- neutral oil, for frying
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 green chilis
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Remove the curry leaves from the sprig and stack the leaves on top of each other. Cut them as evenly as possible.
- Add the dahi, ginger garlic paste, chopped curry leaves, kashmiri chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala, black pepper, and salt to a bowl. Whisk it together.
- Remove the fat from the chicken thighs. Cut the thighs into 1-inch cubes. Transfer the cubed chicken to the bowl and toss with the marinade to fully coat it. Cover the chicken and marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes, but ideally for 24 hours for the best flavor.
- After marinating, add the rice flour and corn starch into the chicken and toss it to coat. The chicken should be fairly dry.
- Heat neutral oil in a heavy bottom pot or wok to deep fry the chicken. Once it reaches 350°F, carefully drop the chicken one-by-one into the oil, leaving plenty of space between the cubes. After about a minute, toss the chicken with a slotted spoon. Keep frying until it's a deep reddish-brown. The internal temperature should reach 165°F.
- Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and allow it to drain on a paper towel.
- Slice the green chilis at an angle and remove the curry leaves from the second sprig. In a wok or skillet on low to medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Once hot, add the green chilis, kashmiri chili powder, ginger garlic paste, and curry leaves. Mix it to temper the chili powder and fry until the curry leaves are crispy. Add more oil as necessary.
- Add the fried chicken and toss it with the tadka to coat completely, until the chicken is warmed through.
- Serve the Chicken 65 immediately with sliced red onions and lemon wedges.
syam says
It looks good
Shweta Garg says
Hope you get a chance to try it!