Chicken 65

Chicken 65

June 6, 2018 0 By RimmersRecipes

While the name “Chicken 65” is universally used to refer to the dish,  there are many different stories for how the name came about. It is generally acknowledged that no one knows which (if any) of these anecdotal theories are correct

  • Chicken 65 is alleged to be a dish introduced in 1965 at the famous Buhari Hotel restaurant in Chennai by its founder A.M.Buhari, a pioneer in the South Indian food industry.  They also offer Chicken 78, Chicken 82 and Chicken 90, introduced in  1978, 1982 and 1990 respectively. Amitabh Bachan’s Kon Banega Crorepati  1, featured Chicken 65 as a Buhari invention and also Siddarth Basu’s  Quiz Time in Door Darshan in the 90’s featured it too.
  • The dish is said to require 65 days to prepare the marinade, but this is unlikely for reasons of freshness and flavour.
  • One account claims that the dish emerged as a simple meal solution for Indian soldiers in 1965.
  • Another account claims that it is a dish containing 65 chilli peppers devised by an enterprising hotelier.
  • The name is also claimed to relate to a requirement for the meat to be from 65-day-old chickens.
  • Yet another source claims that northern Indian army soldiers  frequented a military canteen in Chennai. Its menus were written in  Tamil, the local language. As most soldiers could not read Tamil, they  made their choice by citing the number of the dish on the menu. The  dish’s popularity spread among the soldiers by word of mouth. They’d  simply ask for “number 65”; soon, the dish became known officially as  “Chicken 65”
Print Recipe
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Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 10 Minutes
Passive Time 30+ Minutes to Marinate
Servings
People as a starter
Prep Time 10 Minutes
Cook Time 10 Minutes
Passive Time 30+ Minutes to Marinate
Servings
People as a starter
Instructions
  1. Slice the chicken breasts into small bite-sized pieces (tikka). Mix all the batter ingredients into a paste, then rub it evenly into the chicken pieces. If time permits, let this marinate for about 30 minutes or overnight.
  2. When ready to deep fry, heat your oil in a large wok. The oil should be at least 1ocm (4in) deep. The oil is ready when a small piece of chicken sizzles immediately upon putting it in the oil. If using an oil thermometer, aim for 190°C.
  3. Fry the chicken in batches until the exterior is nice and crispy and the meat is almost cooked through. This should take about 2-3 minutes per batch. Place the finished chicken pieces on a wire rack to rest while you fry the remaining batches. The frying can be done ahead of time. Store the fried chicken, covered in the fridge until ready to use.
  4. Once cooled a bit, remove all but about 3 tablespoons of the oil from the wok. Place over high heat and toss in the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, reduce the heat to medium-high, add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies and fry for a further 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant and soft about I minute should do the job.
  5. Tip in the chicken and spring onions and stir well to coat. Fry it all over high heat until the chicken is completely cooked through. Squeeze the lemon juice over the top and add the hot pepper sauce, if using. Give it all one last good stir, check for seasoning, adding a little more salt if needed, and serve.