Chicken 65 with gravywith step-by-step photos and a video recipe. This quick and easy south Indian appetizer is made with crispy fried chicken tossed with yogurt sauce with chili, garlic, curry leaves. Se tempering. Serve it as a starter or a side dish with dal and rice.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Resting time2 hourshrs
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: snacks/starters
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4people
Calories: 400kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
Heavy bottom pan or wok
Ingredients
For the marinade
300gramsboneless and skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
1tablespoonginger-garlic paste
1teaspooncumin powder
1tablespoonKashmiri red chili powderused to give bright red color and is not spicy
1teaspoonblack pepper powder
salt to taste
1teaspoonlemon juice
1tablespoonfinely chopped fresh curry leaves
2tablespoonfull fat curd/yogurt
For the batter or coating
2tablespoonrice floursubstitute corn flour or cornstarch
3tablespooncornflour
For Yogurt Sauce
½cup full fat yogurt
salt to taste
1 teaspoonground black pepper
1.5teaspoonKashmiri red chili powder
1tsp red chili sauce
2 tablespoontomato ketchup
1teaspoondark soy sauce
1teaspoon cumin powder
1teaspoongaram masala powder
1 teaspooncornflour (or cornstarch)
½cup water
For the gravy
3 tbspoil
1teaspooncumin
1 smallonion, chopped
1springcurry leaves
2green chilies, slit
2teaspoonfinely chopped garlic cloves
1teaspoonfinely chopped ginger
1teaspoonvinegar
Instructions
To marinate the chicken
In a mixing bowl combine chicken pieces with ginger-garlic paste, cumin powder, Kashmiri red chili powder, black pepper powder, salt, lemon juice, curry leaves and yogurt. Marinate for at least 2 hours. Let the chicken soak up all the delicious flavor. Cover and keep it in refrigerator.
After 2 hours, take out the marinated chicken and keep it aside for 15 minutes or until it comes to room temperature. Add cornflour and rice flour to the marinade bowl and give it a quick toss. Add the flour to the marinated chicken just before frying as it makes the chicken crispy.
Frying chicken 65
Heat oil in a pan at medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add these marinated chicken pieces one by one to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Do not stir it immediately. Let it cook for a minute.
Gently stir and fry until it is golden brown and crisp. Remove fried chicken and set this aside on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Yogurt sauce
In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the ingredients mentioned under the yogurt sauce. Keep it aside.
Tempering (Tadka)
Heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin and let it crackle.
Next, add onions, curry leaves, green chilies,ginger and garlic. Mix and cook until onions are golden.
To make gravy
Reduce the heat to low. Whisk the yogurt mixture in the bowl and add it to the pan. Stir continuously until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. It is important to stir continuously otherwise the yogurt may curdle.
Add vinegar and combine. Chicken 65 sauce is ready.
On medium-high, add the fried chicken and toss it for 2 minutes or until the sauce coats the chicken. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Marinate the chicken for 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. This is an important step, so do not skip it. The chicken will absorb all the flavors from the spices. The longer the chicken marinates the better it tastes. It keeps the fried chicken soft and juicy inside and crisp outside.
Add corn flour and rice flour to the marinated chicken just before you fry them. It will make the chicken pieces crispy. Do not add the rice flour and cornflour while marinating the chicken.
Do not fry the chicken pieces directly taken out from the refrigerator. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes. If it is cold then it will lower the temperature of the oil.
Deep fry the chicken in medium hot oil. If the oil is very hot then the chicken will quickly fry from outside and will remain uncooked inside. Similarly, if the oil is not hot enough then the chicken will absorb oil and will become oily.
To check the exact temperature, drop a small piece of batter in hot oil. If it comes up quickly without getting burnt then it is ready to fry.
The use of curry leaves is an important part of making this recipe. Do not skip adding this as curry leaves give it an authentic taste and aroma.
Use full-fat yogurt at room temperature. This is important because if you add yogurt that is taken straight out of the refrigerator there are chances that it will curdle.
Add crispy fried chicken pieces to the yogurt sauce only when you are ready to serve. This will keep the chicken crispy coated in a flavorful sauce. If the fried chicken sits longer in the sauce it will be soggy.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays good for 2 days. Reheat and serve. It will not remain crisp but tastes good.
Not a freezer-friendly dish. Once you thaw it the outer coating will become soggy.