This restaurant-style Chicken 65 is a spicy, deep-fried starter snack, appetizer, or a full meal served with naan! It's marinated in yogurt, spices, and curry leaves for 24 hours so it's deeply flavorful and aromatic.
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.
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Notes
AIR FRYER INSTRUCTIONSTo 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.