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.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
What is Chicken 65?
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 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.
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. 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.
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
How to make Chicken 65
There are three main steps to making a very flavorful, restaurant-style Chicken 65. 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.
1. Marinate the Chicken
2. Fry the Chicken
3. Toss the Chicken in Tadka
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. So, let’s break it down. 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. 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! 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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
Recipe
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