May 26, 2006

Chicken 65

Chicken 65 is an odd name for a dish. I still haven't figured out what the 65 stands for...Is the chicken used in the recipe, only 65 days old? Is the recipe a culmination of 65 ingredients? Is the cost of the dish 65 Rupees in India? Or maybe it took 65 tries to make the recipe perfect.... I could go on. If anybody comes across the origin of the term, enlighten us.This is my mother in law's version of the recipe.

Cooking time:35 mins and preparation time is another 15 mins.
You'll need:
Chicken -1 kg/2lbs.. Could be one chicken cut up into pieces.
Small green chillies -4 crushed
Juice of two lemons
Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Ginger - 1 1/2 tbsp
Garlic - 1 1/2 tbsp
Tomato- 2 tbsp paste (1 small one)
If you don't have tomato paste, just boil a tomato for 5 mins, remove skin and add to the other ingredients for grinding.

Spices:
Paprika or any tandoori masala- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder -2 tsp or more

For seasoning:
Curry leaves - one sprig chopped
Coriander leaves- one handful cleaned and chopped.
Green chillies- 5 slit vertically.
Any oil for frying

Salt to taste

Preparation:
1. Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces.
2. Grind the spices and the other ingredients into a fine paste without adding water.Mix the chicken and the marinade thoroughly and keep aside for at least 3-4 hrs.
3. Cook the chicken with its marinade( no additional water) in a saute pan for 7 mins till all the water is absorbed and the chicken looks dry. This will cook the chicken and reduce frying time.
4. Heat 1/2 cup oil (approx.) and lower the heat while adding the marinated chicken. Fry on medium heat for about 7-10 mins.The chicken has to brown evenly.
5. Drain with a slooted spoon onto a paper towel to remove the excess grease.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or sauce pan and fry the curry and coriander leaves and green chillies in slow heat for a minute. Drain and garnish on top of the chicken.

5 comments:

indianadoc said...

Nice to see a Malabar blog..What I have heard is for chicken65, one chicken is cut into 65 pieces!!...happy blogging n happy eating!!

Shah cooks said...

Hi
Thanks.I also heard about it being the 65th item on the menu in a restaurant in Bombay.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chiciken 65 has its origin in Chittnad region in Tamil Nadu which is one of the largest chili producing regions. for every 100 grams of dry red chili, you get 65 grams of chili powder and the dish use lot of chili, that is why chicken 65.

This is a popular dish in hyderabad, i did lot of research to find out the reason behind the name and managed to read it in two different magazines which had articles on the chittnad region.

Visit my bloh at www.diningstreet.blogspot.com or my website forum www.diningstreet.com/forum

Anonymous said...

love all ya recipes!!...keep up the good work and helping all of us amateur cooks :)!i can't help but come back to ur blog everytime i make something..and the yall turn out wonderfully yummy! :D...about the origin of the name of this recipe..i remember hearing a chef of one of the top hotels, like taj or something of that range, say during a cookery show on tv, that the name originated coz the chicken used in the recipe used to be 65 days old!

Unknown said...

This recipe of yours has become such a hit my house! Thanks for the recipe.