Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Soft and Juicy Chicken 65

Soft, juicy and spicy Chicken 65 - The ultimate starter recipe

Have you all come across this thought - Why does chicken 65 in restaurant alone is so soft, juicy and full of flavours?! Well I have had this thought atleast a dozen times. Earlier mostly we buy readymade chicken 65 masala powder. Though it was flavouful and good, it wasn't as soft and juicy as we get in restaurants.

One day my friend Indhu gave me a wonderful tip of marinating the chicken in lemon juice first which eventually led to these ultimate Chicken 65.

There are two main things that I consider important to get a perfect soft and juicy Chicken 65

First marinate the chicken in lemon juice and salt up to 4 hours ( minimum 1 hour )
Fry the chicken in medium high flame until it is just cooked. Cooking for too long can also make the chicken run out of all the moisture.

And one more thing, this is the recipe I use in my Chicken 65 Biryani - one of the popular posts in our space!!!

Chicken 65

Soft, juicy and spicy Chicken 65!!!
Prep time: 4 hour 30 min| Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 4 hour 45 min| Yield: serves 3 to 4

INGREDIENTS:
Bite-sized / cubed Chicken pieces: 3/4 Kg
Big Lemon: 1
Salt: to taste
Red Chilli Powder: 2 and 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1 and 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder: 3/4 tsp
Pepper Powder: 3/4 tsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste: 1 tbsp
All Purpose Flour: 2 tbsp
Corn Flour: 4 tbsp
Oil: for frying

METHOD:

1) Clean the chicken pieces by washing with water at least twice. Drain all the water and make sure they are dry. Add lemon juice and little salt.

2) Mix well and keep aside for 4 hours. After 4 hours, add ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, pepper powder, turmeric powder, all purpose flour, cornflour and the remaining salt.

3) Mix well and keep aside for another 1/2 hour. Heat oil in a kadai and drop the chicken pieces one by one ( Do it in batches without crowding too much as it will reduce the oil temperature )

4) Fry the Chicken pieces in medium high flame. After one side of the chicken pieces are cooked flip over and cook on the other side too. Cook till they are evenly browned. Drain the chicken pieces in a tissue paper.
I always do a taste test with a small piece to check if they are done and note the timings for the next batch ( This way I need not test for each and every batch which will eventually lead me to eating the whole lot :) )

That's it soft, juicy and flavourful chicken 65 is ready for grab!!! Serve hot with onions and lemon wedges...

NOTES:

1) Marinate the chicken pieces in lemon juice and salt for a minimum of 1 hour as it will yield the best soft and juicy chicken.

2) Cooking time is very essential in getting perfect chicken 65. It may vary depending on the size of chicken pieces and the heat of your stove. But don't worry, you will definitely get it right. Just do some taste test and see which you like the best.

3) The colour of the chicken mainly depends on the colour of your red chilli powder.