Chicken 65

Yesterday after I got back from work, kids were anticipating a day off from school as "Hercules" was expected to dump several inches of snow. On the days we have snow storms, all of us at home like to dig into something good to eat. For the first time during a snow storm, I was stuck indoors with non stop calls from work. The boys spent a few hours shoveling and they kept walking in and out of the house. With bitter cold temperature this was a perfect snack for them to refuel their energy.
My Mom's recipe for Chicken 65 called for deep frying the chicken. I am not a fan of deep fried food and try to find an alternative as much as possible. This recipe turns out equally good as deep fried chicken. I prefer using dark meat although boneless chicken breast can be substituted.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
4-5 green chilies, chopped fine
1 tbsp ginger, chopped fine
1 tsp garlic, chopped
1 tbsp yogurt
few drops of red food coloring
oil

For the marinade:
2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp rice flour
1 tbsp yogurt
salt to taste
4 curry leaves

How it's made:

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Wash well and pat dry. Marinate with the above marinade ingredients for  6-8 hrs (Due to lack of time, I let it marinate in the refrigerator for an hour only).
In a shallow pan, heat a tbsp of oil, add curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds (cover pan if required as oil might splatter). Add marinated chicken and saute on high heat for 5 minutes. Cover and cook until chicken is well cooked and light brown. Do not add water.
In a separate pan, heat oil. Add green chilies, ginger and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes until light brown. Add yogurt along with food coloring. Mix well together. Add cooked chicken and combine with sauce until chicken is well coated with the sauce. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot.

Serves: 3-4