Chicken 65

Chicken 65 is Indian fried chicken that is perfect as a crowd pleasing party appetizer or snack. Made with boneless breast meat, it consists of chicken cubes marinated in yogurt and spices, deep-fried to crispy perfection, then tossed in a spicy tempering. Air fryer instructions included. 

About Chicken 65

Chicken 65 is a very popular appetizer/starter in Indian cuisine. It can be dry or saucy, but today we are making a dry version that works as a spicy appetizer, the way it is supposed to be. It is a lot like chicken pakora, except chicken pakora is tame compared to chicken 65! This bad boy is lipsmackingly fiery and bold and a sure-fire hit with a crowd.

That being said, this is a pared-down, easy chicken 65 recipe as I have cut down on all the ingredients that are not strictly necessary. There are NO superfluous add-ons to an essentially simple recipe. So, no 65 spices (sorry!), no egg or cornflour or chilli sauce and what not. When done right, the chicken is made with a few ingredients only, but the result is fabulous. Think chicken that's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and that smells pleasantly of curry leaves, green chillies, and spices. Yum!

The process is also straightforward. Chicken cubes are marinated in a spiced yogurt sauce, coated in rice flour, deep fried until crisp, and finally tossed in a tempering of green chillies, garlic, and curry leaves. And if you can't stand the thought of all that oil, you are welcome to try the air-fried version, which is every bit as delicious as the fried one.

Want more Indian appetizers/snacks with bold flavour? Try chilli paneer, instant pot tandoori chicken, and chicken frankie.

1. Cut the chicken breasts into small(ish) even-sized pieces for easy frying. The bigger the pieces are, the more time they will take to be cooked from the inside while deep frying them. Also, since this chicken 65 recipe is being made as an appetizer, it's nice to have bite-sized pieces that you can pop into your mouth with ease.

2. Toast and grind the cumin seeds to extract the maximum flavour out of them. It's very simple to do this step. Just put whole cumin seeds into a small and frypan crank up the heat to medium-hot. Stir them to and fro for about a minute and you will see the cumin turning darker and emitting a very distinctive aroma. Take it off the heat and grind to a powder when cool.

3. Make the rice flour. Again, a simple process. Add the rice to a spice grinder and whiz until you get a fine powder. The rice flour is added just before you are ready to fry the chicken and not before. It absorbs most of the extra marinade and makes the chicken crispy and textured, a highly preferred outcome for chicken 65.

4. Chop the curry leaves (kari patta) as finely as you can. You will be using curry leaves in the tempering too, but here, chopped curry leaves add to the taste of the chicken.

5. As a general rule, I avoid food colour whenever I can, but in this recipe, I add it simply because it adds so much to the presentation. Chicken 65 has to look dark orange and it simply can't do that without food colour. If you don't care for the colour of the dish, leave it out by all means.

6. Yogurt in Indian cooking is always plain (unflavoured) and unsweetened and full-fat.

This tempering of garlic, curry leaves and green chillies adds a second layer of flavour and taste to the fried chicken, and I always find the taste is SO much better after the tempering. Don't skip it.

1. Chop the garlic and cut the green chillies into 1" pieces (not cut in the picture).

2. If you want, you can also add half a teaspoon of black mustards seeds (not pictured). This is optional though. If you have them, go ahead; if not, there's no harm done.

Marination and Frying

I feel compelled to tell you right at the start that marinating the chicken is an important step that you should not miss. At least one hour of marination if not more really amps up the taste of the final dish. Here's how to do it:

1. Take all the marination ingredients (except the rice flour and oil) in a bowl and mix them well. Add the chicken and let the bowl sit for an hour or two.

2. Now, add the rice flour and mix it in well.

3. Heat the cooking oil in a deep wok or karahi and fry the chicken until golden-brown and crisp.

Tips for deep-frying the chicken

Tip: If you want to gauge if the oil is ready for frying, use the skewer test. Insert a wooden or metal skewer in the hot oil. If you see lots of bubbles rising up around it, the oil is ready.

Tempering

1. Heat the oil (1 tbsp) in a pan and add black mustard seeds (if using). Let them crackle, then add the chopped garlic and when it turns golden brown, add the green chillies and curry leaves. Sauté for a few seconds.

2. Now add the fried chicken and toss well. And that's it! Serve chicken 65 hot with a few lemon wedges for garnish if you want to.

Air Fryer Chicken 65

1. Follow all the preparation and marination steps, then preheat your air fryer and spray the inside with oil. Arrange the chicken pieces so they're not touching each other (don't overcrowd), spray some oil on them lightly, and air fry on 400 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes. Flip midway at the 5-minute mark.

2. Now prepare the tempering in a pan (see 'tempering') and add the air-fried chicken to it. Toss well and serve hot.

Storage and Reheating

Chicken 65 is best had fresh when it is still hot and crispy. It is not really a make-ahead dish. Of course, you can keep the leftover chicken in the fridge for a couple of days, but know that it won't be crispy any more when you want to take it out again.

I personally don't dislike the lack of crunch (the flavours and taste remain intact), but if you want to regain the crispiness, reheat the chicken in an air fryer (380 F, two minutes) rather than a microwave.

📖 Recipe