Chicken 65 Recipe (Baked Version) (2024)

Chicken 65 is an Indian-style fried chicken, a popular chicken starter recipe. Learn how to make a baked version of this classic Indian chicken snack, making it an almost guilt-free treat!

Chicken 65 is a popular South Indian chicken appetizer. Bone-in or boneless chicken chunks are marinated in a flavorful and spicy marinade and deep-fried. Of course, anything fried HAS to be tasty!! Period!

In most cases, red food color is added to the marinade, which gives this dish an even more appetizing look. Today, I’m happy to share with you this rather healthier, baked version of chicken 65!

What is chicken 65?

Chicken 65 was a dish introduced in 1965 at the Buhari Hotel restaurant in Chennai by its founder A.M.Buhari. They also offer Chicken 78, Chicken 82 and Chicken 90, introduced in 1978, 1982, and 1990 respectively. Another account claims that it is a dish containing 65 chili peppers devised by an enterprising hotelier. As explained by food enthusiast Mr. Aniruddha Chande, ” The dish was at 65th number on the menu of the hotel, that’s why the name.” (Source- Wiki )

Can you make this without deep frying?

Yes, you can! This chicken 65 recipe is a baked version and is just as good as the deep-fried version sans the extra calories.

Earlier, I would shallow fry the chicken rather than deep frying. While it works fine, it can never really be compared to its crispy deep-fried counterpart.

So like always, I thought I’d bake this as well, and you can see how beautifully it has turned out. Perfect crisp exterior, the main attribute of deep-fried foods, and tender and succulent on the inside. I have prepared this dish countless times, and I thought I ought to share it now!

Make this easy baked version in 3 simple steps

There are 3 steps required to make chicken 65-

• Marinating the chicken pieces.
• Deep fry the chicken pieces.
• Coating the fried chicken with a flavorful tempering and sauce.

How to prepare chicken 65 masala powder at home?

I would prepare this dish using ready-made Ching’s chicken 65 masala spice mix packets, which I’d pick up from my trips to India. But a quick look at the ingredients, made me realize I could easily just make these at home from scratch instead since I had all the required ingredients.

You will need spices that you probably already have in your pantry right now.

If you cook Indian food, I’m sure you have ground spices like;

• Red chilli
• Turmeric
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Black pepper
• And garam masala
• Salt

That’s all you need for the chicken marinade along with some more ingredients like

• Lime or lemon juice
• Ginger garlic paste
• Rice flour
• Cornstarch
• Egg.

The rice flour makes a crispier coating, so I’ve skipped the flour and used rice flour instead. If you don’t have rice flour, use regular flour (maida).

Once the chicken is marinated, you may deep fry or bake it as I’ve done. This is a basic Indian fried chicken recipe. Take it a step further, and coat these cooked chicken pieces with a tempering of mustard seeds, ginger-garlic, lots and lots of curry leaves, some chilli sauce, chilli powder, garam masala powder, and ketchup! Yum Yum!! A finger-licking, delicious Indian chicken appetizer is ready.

This is a pretty quick chicken snack recipe once the chicken is marinated. I recommend marinating it for a minimum of 30 minutes for the best results.

I’ve used Kashmiri red chilli powder in the marinade and the tempering to give that reddish tinge.

This is a Hyderabadi Chicken 65 recipe. I’ve also mentioned the Andhra chicken 65 recipe in the notes below.

Do give this healthier, simple recipe a try. I am sure you will definitely love it and that too without all the extra calories and food color.

For a vegetarian version, simply use Paneer/ tofu/ to make paneer 65, cauliflower to make gobi 65 or potato or even bread cubes to make vegetables 65 or a simple bread 65. You can skip the egg and use yogurt for the marinade instead.

You may also enjoy these Indian chicken starter recipes

• Chicken seekh kebab
• Chicken galouti kebabs
• Non-deep fried chicken coquettes
• Murgh malai kebab
• Chicken lollipop
• Tandoori Chicken
• Chicken Tikka

How to make chicken 65 without deep frying – Step by step instructions

Step 1: Marinate the chicken

Transfer chicken chunks (1.5 pounds/680 grams) to a mixing bowl and add 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder, 2 teaspoons red chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, 1.5 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves. Coat chicken pieces well with the marinade. For best results let it marinate overnight, however, I would recommend marinating for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Step 2: Add other ingredients for the crispy coating

Preheat the oven to 400 F. After the chicken has marinated, add in one beaten egg, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons rice flour. Mix well. (The batter should coat the chicken pieces well, if there is too much moisture, add more rice flour or cornstarch, if it’s too dry, sprinkle very little water, enough to let the flours coat the chicken well).

Step 3: Bake

Place the chicken pieces on a greased wire rack above a baking tray. You can also place them on a greased baking tray or a greased parchment paper/foil. For best results, use a wire rack, as it facilitates even heat flow around the chicken pieces.

Brush the chicken pieces with oil and bake for 18- 20 minutes turning once in between or until the chicken is cooked through.

Broil the chicken for an additional 3-4 minutes. Cooking times may vary depending on your oven and the size of the pieces, so keep an eye.

You can serve it as it is now with some lemon wedges and onion rings, or continue a step further to make the sauce to coat the pieces.

Step 4: Prepare the sauce mixture

When the chicken is almost done, start with the tempering. First in a bowl combine 3 tablespoons of red chilli sauce, 1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup, 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Whisk well to combine everything.

Step 5: Tempering

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok, add1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, when they splutter add minced ginger (1-inch), 4 cloves of minced garlic, 3 to 4 slit green chillies, 3 to dry red chillies and 18-20 curry leaves. Sauté until curry leaves, chillies are crisp and the ginger-garlic is fragrant.

Add 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder, cook on medium-low heat for another 15 seconds.

Step 6: Add prepared sauce mixture and water

Immediately add in the prepared sauce mixture along with 1/3 cup water, cook on medium heat until it bubbles and thickens a little. Now add lemon juice/ vinegar and mix.

Step 7: Add baked chicken pieces

Add in the cooked chicken pieces and toss to coat evenly with the tempering and sauce. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro, and serve immediately with some onion rings and lime wedges.

Notes

1.This dish is fairly spicy, reduce the chilli powder, pepper powder and chilli sauce for a milder version.

2.For an Andhra style Chicken 65, make the sauce for the coating in the following way:

• In a mixing bowl, add 3/4 cup yogurt, 3 tablespoons red chilli sauce. 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup (optional), salt to taste, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 teaspoon cornstarch (to prevent the yogurt from splitting once added to the tempering), whisk well to make a smooth and lump-free batter.
• After you follow 5 i.e the tempering, lower the heat and add in the prepared yogurt mixture, stir continuously until the sauce is bubbly and thick.
• Then add in the baked/deep-fried chicken pieces, mix and stir until the chicken has absorbed all the sauce mixture. Serve hot with onion rings and lime wedges.

3.You can add some red food color to the marinade and the sauce mixture.

4.You can deep-fry or shallow fry the chicken instead of baking.

★ If you try this chicken 65 recipe, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Feel free to share your feedback and suggestions at [emailprotected]. Thanks so much 🙂

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