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    Home » Meal Type » Appetizer

    Chicken 65 Recipe (Dry Version) – Three Ways

    Published on December 17, 2021 · Updated on December 17, 2021 - This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See disclosure policy.

    654 shares
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Chicken 65 is easily one of the more popular Indian chicken appetizers in Indian restaurants, and with good reason! Because what’s not to love about Indian spiced fried chicken pieces, tossed in South Indian style tempering? Serve it along with a main course dish like Chicken Fried Rice or even Chicken Biryani, and enjoy! Chicken 65 also works great as an appetizer to bring to potluck parties!

    top shot of a plate full of homemade chicken 65, with another serving on the side, along with some schezwan chutney

    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.

    Jump to:
    • What is Chicken 65
    • Why is it called Chicken 65 / What is the meaning of 65 in Chicken 65
    • Ingredients You Need
    • How to Make Chicken 65
    • Notes
    • Serving Suggestion
    • Recipe Variations
    • Baked Chicken 65 Using Oven
    • Chicken 65 in Airfryer
    • Popular chicken recipes on the blog..
    • 📖 RECIPE

    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

    top shot of all the ingredients required to make chicken 65 at home
    ingredients – boneless chicken pieces (cut into bite sized chunks), eggs, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, corn flour, rice flour, oil, mustard seeds, whole red chilli & curry leaves

    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.
    step by step photos of marinating chicken for making chicken 65
    • 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.
    step by step photos of second marination of chicken for fluffy yet crispy coating

    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.
    step by step photos of frying the chicken pieces

    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.
    step by step photos of tossing fried chicken pieces in south indian style tempering for chicken 65

    Notes

    1. For a spicier chicken 65, you can increase the amount of red chilli powder, and other spices, and even add in black pepper powder in the marinade. 
    2. You can skip adding corn-flour for binding, and double up on the rice flour instead, for a really crispy chicken 65. Especially if you are using eggs, which work as a good binding agent anyway. I personally prefer the texture that I get with adding a mix of both corn flour and rice flour. 
    3. You can also choose to add in red food coloring or even kashmiri chilli powder instead of regular chilli powder for getting that restaurant like red-colored chicken 65. I personally don’t add in food coloring if I can avoid it.

    Serving Suggestion

    Serve Chicken 65 as an appetizer, along with a main course dish like Chicken Fried Rice or Chicken Biryani.

    top shot of a plate full of homemade chicken 65, with another serving on the side, along with some schezwan chutney

    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.

    indian style baked chicken 65 on the oven tray after getting baked in the oven

    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.

    indian style air fried chicken 65 bites inside phillips airfryer basket

    Popular chicken recipes on the blog..

    ⭐️ Restaurant Style Chicken Lollipops
    ⭐️ Tandoori Spiced Chicken Wings
    ⭐️ Chicken Kali Mirch / Pepper Chicken
    ⭐️ Mangalorean Style Chicken Ghee Roast
    ⭐️ Chicken Keema / Indian Style Chicken Mince
    ⭐️ Kolhapuri Style Spicy Chicken Curry
    ⭐️ Whole Chicken Tandoori in Oven

    As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️ 

    📖 RECIPE

    indian spiced deep fried boneless chicken 65 pieces tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves

    Chicken 65 Recipe (Dry Version)

    step by step recipe to make chicken 65 – 3 ways (traditional deep fry, air fryer chicken 65 & baked chicken 65 in oven)
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: Indian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 232kcal
    Author: Shantala Shenoy Nayak

    Equipment

    • 12″ hexclad stir fry wok
    • Philips Air Fryer

    Ingredients

    Chicken

    • 2 pounds boneless chicken preferably thigh meat

    For chicken marination

    • 2 eggs
    • 3 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
    • 1½ teaspoon salt
    • 1½ teaspoon red chilli powder
    • 1½ teaspoon garam masala powder
    • 1½ teaspoon coriander powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
    • 1 tablespoon corn flour
    • 1 tablespoon rice flour

    For tadka / tempering

    • 2 teaspoon oil
    • ½ teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
    • 1 dry red chilli
    • 20 curry leaves (cadipatta)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Chicken Prep & Marination

    • Take 2 pounds of boneless chicken (preferably thigh meat – see notes), 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 refrigerate the marinated chicken for 4-6 hours.
    • 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

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. For a spicier chicken 65, you can increase the amount of red chilli powder, and other spices, and even add in black pepper powder in the marinade. 
    4. It’s best to marinate the chicken for 4-6 hours, but if you are pressed for time, a 2 hour marination will suffice. But irrespective of how long you marinate it, if you have refrigerated the chicken, ensure to first thaw it at room temperature for at-least 30 minutes before you start frying it.
    5. You can skip adding corn-flour for binding, and double up on the rice flour instead, for a really crispy chicken 65. Especially if you are using eggs, which work as a good binding agent anyway. I personally prefer the texture that I get with adding a mix of both corn flour and rice flour. 
    6. You can also choose to add in red food coloring or even kashmiri chilli powder instead of regular chilli powder for getting that restaurant like red-colored chicken 65. I personally don’t add in food coloring if I can avoid it.
     

    Quick Notes on Variation (details shared in post above recipe card)
    1. Air Fryer Chicken 65 – 390 F for 20-25 minutes, flipping once in between
    2. Oven Baked Chicken 65 – 350 F for 20-25 minutes, flipping once in between
     
    Please note: The nutrition values are best estimates provided as a courtesy. The exact values can vary depending on the exact ingredients or brands used. If you rely on them for your specific diet and/or health issues, please consult a registered dietician or nutritionist.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 151mg | Sodium: 790mg | Potassium: 629mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 475IU | Vitamin C: 79mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

    Video Recipe

    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @loveofspice or tag #loveofspice!

    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. 🙂

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nazera

      March 28, 2020 at 10:22 pm

      5 stars
      Hello Shantala
      Quick question..how much oil is needed for deep frying the chicken..
      As well as can I sauté it in the pan instead of frying .

      Thanks

      Reply
      • Shantala's Kitchen

        March 30, 2020 at 2:38 pm

        Hi Nazera, the quantity of oil will depend on the size of the container. But I ensure to use enough oil to enable deep frying. So that usually means the frying pan is at-least half-full with oil. And I usually use a smaller frying pan for this recipe, as I fry in smaller batches.

        Also, you can pan fry the chicken, but I haven’t tried it. For the flavor it’s best to deep fry. But during times like these when we need to conserve resources, I think pan frying is worth a shot.

        You can also choose to bake it the oven or fry in the airfryer (as shared above).

        Hope this helps.

        Happy cooking! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Soumya

      February 26, 2020 at 6:59 am

      What a detailed recipe, beautifully done, Shantala 🙂

      Reply
      • Shantala's Kitchen

        February 26, 2020 at 9:02 am

        Thank you so much Soumya. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Rajlakshmi

      February 25, 2020 at 7:33 pm

      It’s fun to read about the history of a dish. I am glad you shared air fryer recipe too. That would be so convenient. This looks amazing. As always love your photography 😀

      Reply
      • Shantala's Kitchen

        February 25, 2020 at 7:40 pm

        Thank you so much. And yeah the air fryer is definitely convenient. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Kamal Nair

      September 16, 2019 at 7:43 am

      Shantala, thank you for sharing this yummy post on the recipe of Chicken 65. I think it is the second most popular dish after Chilli Chicken on the Indo-Chinese menu. I loved the images you have shared here. I will try the recipe and hope it turns out right too.

      Reply
      • LoveOfSpice

        September 16, 2019 at 9:55 am

        Thank you for stopping by, Kamal. And all the best with your Chicken 65. 🙂

        Reply
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    Hi there, I am Shantala, an Indian foodie in an American kitchen. Welcome to The Love of Spice - my food blog, virtual home & passion project, all rolled into one. On here I share Easy-to-Follow Family Recipes, along with tips on Indian Meal Planning & Lunch Box Ideas for Kids & Adults. I hope you enjoy the site, and find it useful. :) read more

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