Restaurant-Style Chicken 65 with Curry Leaves

Every time we eat at an Indian restaurant, my kids go straight for the butter chicken. I order chicken 65, every time, without fail.

Crispy fried chicken tossed with curry leaves and dried chilies, spicy and tangy and hard to stop eating. I finally made it at home because a co-worker handed me a huge bunch of curry leaves, and after I'd used some for Singapore cereal shrimp there was still plenty left.

It turned out to be easier than I expected. One pound of chicken thighs, a yogurt marinade, cornstarch, and a hot wok at the end. No eggs, no batter.

The wok finish is what makes it taste like the restaurant version. Ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and chilies hit the hot oil for about forty seconds, and that smell is the whole dish.

What Is Chicken 65?

Chicken 65 is a South Indian fried chicken dish that started in Chennai. Bite-size pieces get marinated in yogurt and spices, coated, deep fried, then tossed in a hot pan with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and chilies. It's an appetizer at most Indian restaurants and a side dish with rice or naan at home.

The name has at least three origin stories. The most common one is that it appeared in 1965 at a hotel in Chennai. Nobody has settled it and it doesn't matter much.

What does matter is that there's no single version. Restaurants make Hyderabadi, Andhra, and Indo-Chinese styles, and they taste noticeably different from each other. Some are dry, just fried and served with curry leaves. Some are tossed in sauce.

This one is closer to the Indo-Chinese style, tossed rather than dry, with a small amount of ketchup in the wok sauce. That's not traditional in every version, but it's what makes it taste like the one I order.

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need. Exact amounts are in the recipe card.

• Chicken thighs: One pound, cut into bite-size pieces, roughly an inch. Thighs stay juicy through the fry and the second toss in the wok. Breast dries out, especially at deep-fry heat.
• Full-fat yogurt: The base of the marinade. It tenderizes the chicken and gives the spices something to cling to. Low-fat is thinner and the marinade slides off instead of coating.
• Kashmiri chili powder: Where the deep red color comes from. It's much milder than regular chili powder, more color and gentle warmth than heat, so don't judge the spice level by the color. Goes in both the marinade and the wok sauce.
• Garam masala: The warm spice underneath everything. A little goes a long way in a marinade this small.
• Lemon juice: Acid in the marinade, alongside the yogurt. Also good squeezed over at the end.
• Cornstarch: The coating, not flour. It fries lighter and crisper and holds up better when the chicken goes back in the wok. Tap off the excess or you get a thick, gummy crust.
• Curry leaves: Fresh, and worth tracking down. Citrusy and slightly nutty, and nothing substitutes for them. Indian and Filipino grocery stores both carry them, and they freeze well if you buy a big bunch.
• Ginger and garlic: Minced, into the wok rather than the marinade. Thirty seconds in hot oil is all they need.
• Dried or fresh chilies: Dried give a slower, smokier heat. Fresh red or green are brighter and sharper. Use what you have, and this is where the actual spice level gets decided.
• Ketchup: A small amount in the wok sauce. It adds color, a little sweetness, and a mild tang that balances the chilies. Not in every version of chicken 65, but it's in the one I order.
• Canola oil: For deep frying. Any neutral oil with a high smoke point works.

See recipe card for quantities.

How To Make Chicken 65

1. Marinate the chicken. Combine the yogurt, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss until every piece is coated. Cover and marinate at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge if you're planning ahead. The yogurt is tenderizing, so longer is better up to about 24 hours.

2. Coat in cornstarch. Spread the cornstarch on a plate. Press each piece of marinated chicken into it, coating all sides, then tap off the excess. You want a thin, even layer. Too much and you get a gummy crust instead of a crisp one. Do this right before frying, not ahead, or the coating goes damp sitting on the wet marinade.

3. Deep fry until crisp. Heat enough canola oil in a wok to 340°F. If you don't have a thermometer, a pinch of cornstarch should sizzle steadily rather than sit still or spit. Lower the chicken in gently, working in batches, and leave it alone for the first minute so the coating sets. Fry 5 to 6 minutes until golden. Don't crowd the wok, since that drops the oil temperature and the chicken steams instead of frying. Transfer to a wire rack, not a plate, and don't stack the pieces.

4. Build the wok sauce. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the oil. Heat to medium-high, then add the ginger, garlic, chilies, and curry leaves. Stir for 30 to 45 seconds until fragrant. The curry leaves will sizzle and pop. Stand back a little.

5. Toss to coat. Add the ketchup and stir it into the aromatics, then return the chicken to the wok. Toss for about a minute until every piece is glazed. You're coating, not cooking, so keep it moving and get it out.

6. Serve. Straight onto the plate with red onion rings, cucumber slices, and lemon wedges. Don't let it sit.

What to Serve With Chicken 65

Chicken 65 is an appetizer at most restaurants, but a pound of it with rice is dinner.

• Stove top naan: Torn and used to pick up the pieces. No oven needed and it takes under an hour.
• Steamed basmati rice: The plain option, and the right one if the chicken is already carrying this much flavor.
• Filipino cucumber salad: Cold and sharp against something hot and fried. Different cuisine, same job as the cucumber slices that come with it at the restaurant.
• Raita: Yogurt, grated cucumber, a little salt and cumin. Takes two minutes and it's what cools things down if you went heavy on the chilies.
• Red onion rings and lemon wedges: Not really a side dish, but this is how it's served and the raw onion cuts the richness more than you'd expect.

Storage and Reheating

Fridge: Airtight container for up to 3 days. The crust softens overnight, which is expected once it's been through the sauce.

Reheating: Air fryer or a hot oven at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes. Both bring back most of the crunch. Skip the microwave, which turns the coating to paste.

Freezing: Freeze the plain fried pieces before the wok finish, up to a month. Thaw, reheat in the oven or air fryer, then do the sauce fresh. The tossed version doesn't freeze well, since the coating has already softened once and won't come back twice.

Make ahead for guests: Marinate the day before. Fry a couple of hours ahead and leave the pieces on a wire rack at room temperature. Do the wok finish right as people sit down, which takes under two minutes.

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes You'll Love

• Japanese Chicken Karaage: The same technique in a different direction. Marinated, coated, fried crisp, served with lemon.
• Singapore Cereal Shrimp: Where the rest of that bunch of curry leaves goes. Buttery cereal, chilies, and shrimp in a hot wok.
• Thai Basil Ground Chicken and Mushroom: Faster than this one and no frying. A weeknight version of the same kind of heat.
• Stove Top Naan Bread: For picking up every last piece. No oven, under an hour.

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