Chicken 65

This is a recipe from South India. According to Wikipedia it was invented at Hotel Buhari in Chennai. Chicken is battered and deep fried so that it's crispy on the outside, juicy and tender inside. It has a subtle spiciness that gradually sneaks up on you and can be quite potent.

I've been searching high and low, trying to work out how some Indian restaurants get such vibrant reds in their foods. Well, I've been on a few wild goose chases but here I've finally found it... Tandoori Colour! This is my first time using it so I figured 1/16th of a teaspoon in 2 Tbsp of water should do it. Needless to say... it's ludicrously fucking red. This jar will last me about 45 years.

Anyway, having used too much tandoori colour, I decided to accidentally use too much chilli so it's very fitting that it turned out looking like a lava flow from a George Pal movie. (don't worry, I've adjusted the recipe so you won't die)

Ingredients

• Batter the Chicken:
• 500g Chicken, boneless breast, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1-1.5 tsp Kashmiri Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 0.25 tsp Bi-Carb (Baking) Soda
• 1 Egg, whisked
• 5 Tbsp Cornflour
• 2 Tbsp Flour, All-Purpose
• 1 Tbsp water, optional
• Any Neutral Oil, for deep frying
• Combine and Tadka (Tendering):
• 5 Tbsp Peanut Oil, or any neutral oil, for shallow frying
• 1.5 tsp Cumin Seeds, whole
• 3 Garlic Cloves, thinly sliced
• 2-3 Green chilli, small, mild, de-seeded
• 5 Red Chillies, whole, dried
• 1 tsp Ginger, minced
• 1 Tbsp Jaggery, or Brown Sugar
• Small handful Curry Leaves
• 50ml South Asian-style Chilli Garlic Sauce (any, you choose)
• 100ml Yoghurt, greek (plain), whisked
• 5 Tbsp Water
• 1 pinch Tandoori Colour (optional-see photo), or liquid food colouring
• Sea salt, to taste
• Lemon Wedges, optional, for serving

Method

1. Batter the Chicken:
2. Using paper towel, pat the chicken pieces dry, then place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the chilli powder, pepper, salt, and baking soda. Use a wooden spoon and gently mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
3. Stir in the whisked egg. Add the cornflour and plain flour, toss gently to coat the chicken, adding water if it gets too dry or hard to mix.
4. Deep Fry the Chicken:
5. Meanwhile, heat a large, deep dish frying pan over medium-high heat or use a deep fryer if you have one. Add enough oil so that it's 2cm deep. It should be deep enough so that the batter doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan/fryer. Once the oil is hot, adjust heat to maintain medium-high heat (around 180degC).
6. Working in batches (so you don't overcrowd the pan), lower each piece of chicken into the oil. Turn frequently until crispy and golden brown all over (approx 5 mins at 180degC). If your temprature is too low, the chicken will dry out. Too high and the chicken will still be raw in the centre.
7. Remove the chicken using a slotted spoon and place on a wire cooling rack or a plate with paper towel. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
8. Prepare Tadka:
9. Heat the oil in a seperate deep dish frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds, sliced garlic, green chillies, and whole dried chilies. Saute, stirring, for 2 minutes, until the garlic just begins to brown. Deglaze with a couple of tablespoons of water. Once the water dries up, add the ginger, jaggery (or brown sugar) and curry leaves, saute until aromatic, another 2 minutes.
10. Create the sauce by adding the chilli garlic sauce and yoghurt to the tadka. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens and reduces.
11. In a small bowl, combine the Tandoori Colouring with a a couple of tablespoons of water (if using). Add the colouring gradually to your sauce, stirring, until you are happy with the colour. Simmer again for another 2 minutes.
12. Now to Combine:
13. Add the chicken to the sauce and gently toss to coat, adjust flavour with salt, if needed. Simmer for another 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens again. Serve with lemon wedges, sliced red onion and dollops of yoghurt as an entree or as mains with basmati rice.