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Chilli Chicken Recipe, How to Make Chilli Chicken

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dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken

Dry chilli chicken, easily the most popular Indian-Chinese chicken recipe for the meat lovers. It’s spicy (it’s called chilli chicken after all), it’s got a crunch from the flour coating over the chicken and the capsicum, and it’s really quite delicious. When TH asks what’s the one thing I’d say he’s missing being a vegetarian, my answer is usually a very confident “chilli chicken for sure”.

So yes, we all know it and love it but how do we make chilli chicken at home? If you’ve attempted to make any manchurian or Indian Chinese dishes at home, you’ve probably felt it’s not the same as what we get in the restaurants. The key reason for this is that they deep fry things without worrying about health or calories and we would probably hesitate. At least, that’s my theory. So this chilli chicken recipe is as close to how a restaurant would make it but I haven’t added any MSG which they are sure to add in chilli chicken. I also haven’t used any food colour because I really don’t think that’s necessary.

Looking for a vegetarian alternative? Check out my super easy gobi manchurian recipe.

Chilli chicken pairs really well with:
Mushroom fried rice
Egg fried rice
Chicken fried rice
Vegetarian fried rice
Vegetable noodles
Broccoli and mushroom fried rice

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken

The key in making a good chilli chicken is in the seasoning of the flour batter in which the chicken is fried. That can really make or break your dish to a large extend. I recommend experimenting a bit because it’s nearly impossible to get the exact same result even if you closely follow my recipe. Your corn flour is going to be a different brand, ground differently, the weather is not the same and you most definitely won’t be able to get the same consistency as I did for the batter. I know, sounds like a lot of bad news. But fear not, I am yet to make an inedible chilli chicken. No matter how it turns out, you can ‘fix’ it or just eat it anyway.

4.4 from 8 reviews
CHILLI CHICKEN RECIPE INDIAN-STYLE
 
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Chilli chicken is a popular Indian-Chinese appetiser that goes fabulous as a side dish to fried rice or noodles too
Author:
Recipe type: Chicken
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 250 grams of boneless chicken pieces, cubed
For batter:
  • ½ cup of plain flour (maida)
  • ¼ cup of cornflour or cornstarch
  • 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
  • ¼ tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tsp of soya sauce
  • ½ tsp of black pepper powder
For stir-frying:
  • 1 tbsp of oil
  • 1 cup of cubed onions
  • ½ cup of cubed capsicum (bell pepper)
  • 2-3 green chillies, slit
  • 1 tsp of crushed garlic
  • 1 tsp of grated ginger
  • 1 tsp of tomato ketchup
  • 1 tsp of vinegar or lime juice
  • 2 tbsp of minced spring onions or coriander leaves for garnish
Instructions
  1. Clean and cut the chicken pieces into bite-sized cubes
  2. Prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep it ready
  3. Mix all the ingredients for the batter and add enough water to make a thick batter (similar to bajji batter)
  4. Add the chicken pieces to this
  5. Heat oil for deep frying
  6. When the oil is smoking hot, add the chicken pieces thoroughly coated in the batter
  7. Fry on medium heat until golden brown
  8. Drain and set aside
  9. Proceed with the next batch until all the chicken is fried
  10. Drain and set aside
  11. Heat oil and add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies
  12. Saute until the onions turn transparent and soft
  13. Then add the soya sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, and tomato ketchup
  14. Saute for 2 more minutes
  15. Then add the fried chicken pieces and capsicum
  16. Sprinkle some water and cover the pan
  17. Cook on very low heat for 4-5 mins or until the ingredients come together nicely
  18. Uncover, give everything a good mix, check for salt and add more if needed, and remove from heat
  19. Garnish with spring onions or coriander leaves
  20. Serve hot as an appetizer or side dish with fried rice or noodles
Notes
Instead of green chillies, you can add green chilli sauce
The vinegar or lemon juice is optional but I usually add some for the tang it gives
You can use capsicum in any colour
You can also follow the same recipe with small pieces of chicken with bone
The batter ingredients are very customisable. You can opt to add pepper in the final stage rather than into the batter, for example

Step by Step Pictures for Making Chilli Chicken

Mix all the ingredients for the batter

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken

and add enough water to make a thick batter, similar to bajji batter

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-2

Add cleaned and cut chicken pieces

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-3

Stir well to combine

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-4

Heat oil for deep frying and when it’s almost smoking hot, add the chicken pieces one at a time, well coated with the batter

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-6

Fry on medium heat until golden brown. Drain and set aside

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-7

Heat oil and add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies
Saute until the onions turn transparent and soft

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-8

Then add the soya sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, and tomato ketchup and saute for 2 more minutes

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-9

Now add the fried chicken pieces and capsicum.

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-10

Mix well, sprinkle some water, and cook cover for 4-5 minutes on very low heat. Stir in between if you feel the bottom of the pan is beginning to bury but do not add any more water

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-12

Once done, uncover and adjust salt. Then garnish with chopped spring onions or coriander leaves.

dry indian chilli chicken, how to make chilli chicken-11

That’s it! Your dry chilli chicken is now ready to serve. Serve hot as an appetiser or with fried rice or noodles as a side dish with chicken.

If you make chilli chicken following my easy step by step recipe, do drop me a comment below.

For chilli chicken recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, Malay etc please use the Google translate button in the sidebar

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  1. Hi,
    Will be trying out the recipe very soon. Have a couple of questions though. Would using wholewheat atta instead of maida make a substantial difference? And can one shallow fry the chicken instead of deep fry? Appreciate your reply.
    Thanks
    Jayant

    Reply

  6. Made this for lunch today with rice, potatoes white curry and tempered long beans. Enjoyed by all. Nothing remaining!

    Reply

  8. I m yet to try this… However one question… Doesn’t the chicken harden after Frying? I have tried different methods and it never comes out like the restaurant one… It turns hard chewy and the fried batter taste kills it all…

    Reply

  13. Thanks for the recipe. Prepared it for first time n got good compliments from hubby .will prepare again keep posting some more recipe

    Reply

  16. Hi nags, I did try this recepi . just relished it. my son just loved it . I hv bookmarked this recipe. Thanks fr sharing
    Rgds
    Marina

    Reply

  17. I made this at home last week and my hubby just loved it! I am going to make this again soon! 🙂 Instead of ketchup i added fresh tomato puree and that added more gravy to it. I did this because I served it with rice 🙂 Thanks Nags!

    Reply

  18. I tried this today and it was the best chicken dish I have prepared till date. It was so soft and yummy. Thanks to you. 🙂

    But, what I prepared didn't look like the picture. It didn't have any red color at all. I followed exactly as per your recipe. Did I miss anything?

    Reply

  20. Hi there,
    I have had a lot of chilli chicken in the past but had never tried it at home. I used your recipe as a jumping off point but something made me add a little tomato sauce and a little sugar (maybe the Beng in my household?). I don't know why I had that inspiration, but it came out nicely. Thanks for helping me get a handle on a family favorite.

    Reply

  21. The dish feel light and easy to prepare. If my understanding is right this is a dry dish. Let me know if there is a way..we can prepare a gravy format of the same..Thanks in advance

    Reply

  25. It was my first try with chilli chicken recipe last saturday, and it really turned out amazing. Went very well with the red wine that our guests brought. I could make this in very less oil,this was the best part of it as this recipe doesnt ask for deep frying.Deep frying recipes are always not very exciting for me.
    It is best when served right from the stove, mine had turned somewhat cold by the time we started eating it, but the chicken still soft.

    Reply

  28. Hello Nagalakshmiji I tried it for my son and it turned out very yummy ,my son was asking for more and more……but somehow it was a bit chewy kind of……so plz tell me how to make it soft.

    Reply

  35. Hello…I love all your recipes, Tried your Gobi Manchurian and everyone loved it. Will try this as well. I have been looking for a good Duck recipe. Do you have any suggestions?

    Reply

  37. Manchurian is usually made by dipping the main ingredient in a batter, deep or shallow frying it and then dunking it in a sauce. Chilly dishes are made as is, with lots of chillies but sometimes they are marinated as well. So it depends on how the cook wants to create it I suppose.

    Reply

  38. I was searching for chicken manchurian and came up on this article!! Gr8 work on your site and usefull info.

    The recipe's for machurian chicken and chilli chicken are more or less the same around the many Indian sites i have visited, any idea on that !! Even wiki has very limited info on that, though it elaborates on manchurian c. type but nothing much on chilli c.

    Reply

  40. How much oil are you supposed to use? You mention 1/4 oil but don't specify a measurement. Also, where does the white vinegar fit in?

    Reply

  42. Hi there, just have a quick question. For the cornflour, do you mean cornstarch or actual corn flour? really want to try this but just want to be sure i get it right. thanks!

    Reply

  44. looks so spicy and tasty. Chilly chicken is one of my fav with some simple vegi noodle.. i think i will have to make that sometime soon 🙂

    Reply

  45. firs time here….wow dear…I'm seriously drooling over the pics….ur presenatations r so good !hope to learn something from u ….do visit my space whenever u hav time 🙂

    Reply

  50. Hi Nags, so many "chilli chicken" recipes floating around, but I think am going to bookmark this and try it..it's simple and looks great 🙂

    Reply
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