Chicken 65

It is a symbol of machoism to be able to eat the most chillies. An enterprising hotelier capitalised on this and cooked up the dish Chicken 65, denoting that 65 chillies were used for every kilogram of chicken. Some chefs believe it is called so because of the 65 ingredients used in making it.

Ingredients

• • Boneless chicken cut into cubes 450 grams
  • Ginger-garlic paste 1 tablespoon
  • Coriander powder 2 teaspoons
  • Cumin powder 1 teaspoon
  • Turmeric powder ½ teaspoon
  • Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
  • Cornflour/ corn starch 3 tablespoons
  • Refined flour (maida) 1 tablespoon
  • Salt to taste
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Fresh coriander leaves chopped 1 tablespoon
  • Yogurt ¾ cup
  • Ghee 1 tablespoon
  • Mustard seeds ½ teaspoon
  • Cumin seeds ¼ teaspoon
  • Curry leaves chopped 7-8
  • Scraped coconut fresh for garnishing

Method

Step 1
Take chicken pieces in a bowl. Add ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cornflour, refined flour, salt and lemon juice and mix well.
Step 2
Add coriander leaves and mix well. Add yogurt, mix well and set aside to marinate for 15-20 minutes.
Step 3
To make the tempering, heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, mix and sauté for 10 seconds. Add curry leaves, mix and remove from heat. Set aside.
Step 4
Heat a griller.
Step 5
Skewer the marinated chicken pieces onto satay sticks, place them on the griller and grill, rotating the sticks and basting with the tempering, till golden all around and fully cooked.
Step 6
Serve hot garnished with coconut.