Chicken 65

This is bar food — Chennai bar food, specifically — and I cannot think of a better thing to put on a plate next to a cold beer. The original is deep-fried, but I shallow-fry because I don't want to deal with a quart of oil at home. The flavor is in the marinade and the tempering: ginger, garlic, chile, curry leaves, all hitting hot oil at the end.

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste (or 1 tsp each, grated)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons rice flour or all-purpose flour
• Neutral oil, for shallow frying

For the tempering:

• 2 tablespoons of the frying oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 20 fresh curry leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 green chiles, slit
• 1 tablespoon yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

1. In a bowl, mix the chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chile powder, turmeric, garam masala, and salt. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes (an hour is better).
2. Stir in the cornstarch and rice flour right before frying — the mixture should coat each piece.
3. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a wide skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Working in batches, lay the chicken in carefully and fry until deep red-brown and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Move to a paper-towel-lined plate.
4. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. Lower the heat to medium. Add mustard seeds — when they pop, throw in the curry leaves (stand back, they spit), garlic, and green chiles. Sizzle for 30 seconds.
5. Whisk the tablespoon of yogurt with the chile powder and a splash of water until smooth. Pour it into the pan. It will hiss and reduce in 30 seconds. Return the chicken and toss to coat. Squeeze lemon over, off the heat.
6. Eat immediately, with onion slices and more lemon.

A note: Don't skip the curry leaves. If you can't find them, leave them out rather than substitute — there's no real replacement and the dish is fine without them.