Chicken 65

Story: I have yet to meet a desi who doesn't love Indian Chinese food.. oh.. man do you remember the roadside thela's that serve Hakka Noodles, Manchurian, Chicken lollipop, Sweet corn soup, Veg. spring rolls and American Chopsue.. [drool all over the keyboard]

One of many problems of living around Boston is the fact that you cannot get authentic desi specialities in a restaurant. Honestly - I have not found a single restaurant in the Boston area that serves authentic desi chinese. It is a BIG problem for foodies like us.. we visit NYC often to enjoy good desi chinese food. One more reason to love Manhattan and NYC!

There are several options for desi chinese in NYC, but we almost always end up going to IndoMunch on Lexington avenue [closed now]. Samir Chouthai - one of our friends introduced this place to us . anyways - so we were on a food trip to NYC and had dinner in IndoMunch. The owner (I think) was at the check out counter.. I told him that I simply LOVE their food and we come all the way from Boston to eat it. and me being the usual pushy me - I asked him if he can share the Chicken 65 recipe .... He was soo kind to give me the recipe!!!! I tried it and it actually comes out quite close to the original.. I agree with Shank - that I need some more practice and need to adjust some proportions to get it just right ... but hey - even in its current form - it ain't bad at all.. we both think it is blogworthy.. :-)

Source: IndoMunch - Indian Chinese restaurant in NYC

Time: 3 hours + a little preparation the day before
Ingredients:

• 2-3 dry red chillies
• Corn flour - 2 tbsp
• All purpose flour (maida) 1tsp
• 2 Egg Yolk
• Loads of curry leaves (10-15)
• half inch ginger - julienne
• 1tbsp garlic paste
• 1 small onion julienne
• 1 red pepper julienne
• 1 green pepper julienne
• 1 tsp soya sauce
• 1 or 2 green chillies vertically slit in two halves - depending on the spice level
• 1 tsp dahi / yogurt
• 1 scallion bunch - finely chopped
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces

Recipe:
Chilli Paste:
Day before you make this dish: soak red chillies in 1/2 cup water. The next morning grind the red chillies into a paste. Cook this paste for 2-3 minutes in oil and keep aside.

Deep fry chicken pieces:
Start heating oil for deep frying the chicken pieces. In a bowl, mix corn flour, all purpose flour and egg yolks very well to form a coating for chicken. When the oil is hot enough for deep frying, lightly coat chicken pieces with this mixture and deep fry till golden brown. Pat dry with paper towels and keep aside.

Mix 1 tbsp corn flour with 1/2 cup water and keep this mixture ready for the gravy.

Put it all together:
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, once the oil is hot - add curry leaves and slit green chillies. Once the curry leaves stop crackling, add ginger pieces and garlic paste. Mix well and add onions and pepper, stir fry for a minute or so. Add 1 tbsp chilli paste and 1 tsp of dahi. Mix well.
Add the chicken pieces and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the corn flour mixture with water and mix well. Cover the pan for about a minute. Add salt to taste.

Finally, sprinkle just a little bit of soya sauce (1tsp) and mix well. That's it - it is ready to go! Goes well with fried rice or hakka noodles..