In this post, I share how to make chicken 65 at home, and 3 ways to do it too. So along with the traditional chicken 65 recipe, I share how to make chicken 65 in air fryer, and even how to bake chicken 65 in oven, for a (slightly) healthier version.
What is Chicken 65
Chicken 65 (at its core) is a deep fried boneless chicken appetizer, which involves first frying the chicken pieces, and then tossing it in South Indian style tempering.
Why is it called Chicken 65 / What is the meaning of 65 in Chicken 65
When a dish has a name like this, and is so widely known (and loved), it’s obvious that people will be curious about the origin of the name. I was too. And when I did my “google research”, I came across several theories, ranging from slightly odd to kinda weird to absolutely absurd. Some said the 65 came from the chicken being exactly 65 days old, others said the name was derived from cutting the chicken into 65 pieces. Some even said it involved using exactly 65 ingredients. shudders Because honestly, as much as I love cooking, I am skeptical about ever making a dish that will require 65 ingredients. Thankfully this one doesn’t. Anyway the most popular (and probable) theory is that this dish was simply the 65th dish on the menu of a Military Canteen in Tamil Nadu (India), and was addressed by the number because of the language barrier faced by many military officers who came into this canteen from all over the country and could not read/speak Tamil well. Sometimes a little history is interesting, right? Anyway, here’s my recipe for making chicken 65, shared with step by step instructions and photos.
Ingredients You Need
Ingredient notes
For this recipe (or for any deep fried chicken dish) it’s best to use thigh meat instead of breast meat, as it is easier to over cook breast meat at high temperatures, making it dry and rubbery, while thigh meat is juicier.I cut the chicken into really small cubes, but you can cut the chicken into any shape you prefer. Just ensure the chicken pieces are (approximately) of the same size, as it will be easier to fry them evenly and well.
How to Make Chicken 65
I am using 2 pounds of chicken here, which makes enough chicken 65 to serve about 6-8 people. If you want to make more or less quantity than what I have shared, simply use the slider in the recipe card below to adjust the quantities based on your preference.
Chicken Prep & Marination
Take 2 pounds of boneless chicken, and cut into small bite sized chunks of approximately the same size.In a bowl, beat 2 eggs, and to it, add 3 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, 1½ teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1½ teaspoon garam masala powder, 1½ teaspoon coriander powder, and 1 teaspoon cumin powder. Mix everything together to make a marinade.Now coat all the chicken pieces with this marinade, and ideally refrigerate the marinated chicken for 4-6 hours. Though if you are pressed for time, a 2 hour marination will suffice.
Once the chicken is marinated well, take it out of the fridge, and let it thaw for 30 minutes to an hour at room temperature, to ensure the chicken doesn’t go from one extreme temperature in the fridge to the other extreme in hot oil in a matter of minutes.Right before frying, add 1 tablespoon cornflour (for binding) and 1 tablespoon rice flour (for crispy coating) to the marinated chicken pieces, and mix well.
Frying The Chicken Pieces
Heat up the oil to fry the chicken, and then fry the chicken cubes, a few pieces at a time, till they turn golden brown and crispy.Here ensure to not overcrowd the pan by adding a lot of chicken pieces at the same time, as that will bring down the temperature of the oil, which in turn will result in chicken retaining some oil on the surface, and not getting as crisp as you want the pieces to get for chicken 65.Frying time will vary depending on the size of the pan and the size of the batch, but on medium heat, it took me about 5-7 minutes per batch.As soon as you remove the chicken pieces from the oil, put them in a bowl lined with paper towel, to absorb excess oil, if any.
Chicken 65 Tadka
Finally, in a big pan (that will hold all the chicken pieces), lightly heat up 2 teaspoon oil, and add in ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.When the mustard seeds start popping, add in 1 red chilli (slit in two) & 20 curry leaves, and lightly roast them for 1-2 minutes.Then add in the fried chicken pieces to this tadka & mix well.Now lightly roast the chicken pieces for 3-5 minutes on medium heat, and then turn off the flame.Chicken 65 is ready to serve.
Notes
Serving Suggestion
Serve Chicken 65 as an appetizer, along with a main course dish like Chicken Fried Rice or Chicken Biryani.
Recipe Variations
If you want to make a ‘healthier’ version of this dish, you can choose to not deep fry the chicken pieces, and instead bake them in the oven or fry them in the airfryer – keeping everything else the same. Though of-course the deep fried version tastes the best, which is why it’s best to stick to that version for parties. But then if you simply want to indulge in a close variation at home, then either baking or air-frying the chicken pieces work as good alternatives.
Baked Chicken 65 Using Oven
Instead of deep frying the chicken cubes, you can choose to bake them in the oven at 350 F for 20-25 minutes, flipping them once at the 10 minute mark. The photo below shares how they looked when I chose to bake chicken cubes in the oven for making chicken 65.
Chicken 65 in Airfryer
You can also choose to fry the chicken pieces in an airfryer, instead of deep frying them. Just ensure to drizzle a little oil over the marinated chicken & spray the airfryer container with some oil too. I fried the chicken at 390 degrees (the highest setting in my Philips Airfryer) for 20-25 mins, ensuring to give the chicken cubes a good shake once in between. The photo below shares how the chicken looked when I chose to use my airfryer to fry the chicken for chicken 65.
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📖 RECIPE
This recipe was first published in Feb 2020, and has been republished with updated instructions, notes & tips, step images, as well as video in Dec 2021. If you’d like FREE recipes and meal prep ideas delivered directly to your email inbox every Friday in one short email, then subscribe to the Foodie Friday list HERE, and never run out of ideas on what to cook over the weekend or prep for the week ahead. 🙂
