Chicken 65 is a unique dish originating from south India which is amongst the most popular appetisers not only in the region but across India and abroad as well. This dish is a simple fried chicken dish made by using a marinade of ginger, garlic, red chilli, yoghurt and vinegar.
There are many stories related to its name. Here are some — the chicken used to make the dish should be 65 days old; 65 red chillies were used to spice the dish; 65 ingredients are used to cook the dish; here goes a logical one –the chicken should be marinated for 65 minutes before cooking; yet another story relates chicken 65 to the Indian army canteen where this was the 65th item in the menu card. But the story that is most popular and seems to be true is that this dish was invented by Buhari restaurant in Tamil Nadu in the year 1965.
This restaurant also came up dishes like chicken 72 introduced in 1972 and chicken 2000 introduced in the year 2000 but they were not as popular as chicken 65.
Chicken 65
Serves 2
Ingredients
Chicken boneless 500g
Ginger, chop 1 tbsp
Garlic, chop 1 tbsp
Vinegar 2 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder ½ tsp
Red chilli whole 2-3 no
Yoghurt ¼ cup
Cumin powder ½ tsp
Black pepper powder ¼ tsp
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Rice flour 1 tbsp
Oil to fry
Curry leaves 3-4 sprigs
Method
Cut the boneless chicken into 1 inch square dices and keep aside.
In a mixing bowl combine all the spices and mix well, if required use blender to make a smooth paste.
Marinate the chicken in the prepared marinade and add some chopped curry leaves and sprinkle some rice flour.
Refrigerate for 2 hours so that the seasoning blends well with chicken.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and deep fry the chicken pieces over medium heat.
Fry the chicken pieces till they are well cooked and crispy from outside but juicy from inside.
Keep the chicken pieces on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
Garnish with remaining fried curry leaves and serve hot.
Eggless cake
One of the common requests that I often get from my readers and friends is how to make a good eggless cake? Many vegetarians and vegans often miss out on cakes because they are made with eggs. So now I will tell you about an eggless cake recipe which is not only delicious but easy to make as well. A variety of eggless cakes can be found on the shelves of supermarkets, however, nothing can be compared to a freshly baked cake at home.
Eggless chocolate cake
Ingredients
Flour 300g
Castor sugar 300g
Yoghurt 300ml
Cooking oil 180ml
Baking powder 1tsp
Baking soda 2tsp
Cocoa powder ½ cup
Vanilla extracts few drops
Unsalted butter 2tbsp
For icing
Dark chocolate 100g
Whipped cream 200ml
Garnish
Cocoa powder to garnish
Red cherry to garnish
Method
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and keep aside.
Whisk yoghurt and sugar till the sugar dissolves.
Add oil and continue to whisk till the ingredients are combined.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the prepared yoghurt mixture and mix well to avoid lumps.
Pour the mixture in a greased tray with unsalted butter and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degree C for 30-35 minutes.
You can check the cake by piercing a knife in the cake. If it comes out clean the cake is baked properly.
For icing, combine melted dark chocolate, whipped cream and keep aside.
Allow the cake to cool down and slice the cake and layer with choice of chocolate cream or other icing.
Refrigerate for few hours to allow the cake to set.
Serve cold and garnish as required.
Note: While baking the cake do not open the oven door frequently to check the baking as this brings down the oven temperature and can spoil the product being baked.
* Tarun Kapoor is executive chef at Doha’s Horizon Manor Hotel. Send your feedback to:
[email protected]
