Chicken 65 - the crisp starter, made at home

• Prep25 min
• Cook20 min
• Total time45 min
• Serves4

Chicken 65 eaten out always feels impossible to make at home. Two things settle it: cut the chicken boneless and small, and keep the oil properly hot. In lukewarm oil the pieces soak up fat and go soft instead of crisp.

Ingredients

• Boneless chicken - 500 g, small pieces
• Chavsamrat Mix 65 Masala - 2.5 tsp
• Curd - 3 tbsp
• Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Cornflour - 3 tbsp
• Rice flour - 2 tbsp
• Egg - 1 (optional)
• Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
• Green chillies - 3, slit
• Oil, for frying
• Salt

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with curd, ginger-garlic paste, salt and 2 tsp of Chavsamrat Mix 65 Masala for 30 minutes.
2. Mix in the cornflour, rice flour and egg. The coating should be thick, not runny.
3. Heat the oil properly - a drop of batter should rise straight back up.
4. Fry in small batches on medium-high until golden-red.
5. Drain on paper.
6. In another pan, crackle the curry leaves and green chillies in a spoon of oil.
7. Toss in the fried chicken, sprinkle the last half teaspoon of masala and toss on high for a minute.
8. Serve immediately - it loses its crunch as it cools.

Tips

• Do not crowd the pan - the oil cools and the pieces will not crisp.
• The rice flour is there for crunch, do not leave it out.
• For extra crisp, double-fry: once on medium, then a minute on high.