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
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.
- 250 grams of boneless chicken pieces, cubed
- 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
- 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
- Clean and cut the chicken pieces into bite-sized cubes
- Prepare the rest of the ingredients and keep it ready
- Mix all the ingredients for the batter and add enough water to make a thick batter (similar to bajji batter)
- Add the chicken pieces to this
- Heat oil for deep frying
- When the oil is smoking hot, add the chicken pieces thoroughly coated in the batter
- Fry on medium heat until golden brown
- Drain and set aside
- Proceed with the next batch until all the chicken is fried
- Drain and set aside
- Heat oil and add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies
- Saute until the onions turn transparent and soft
- Then add the soya sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, and tomato ketchup
- Saute for 2 more minutes
- Then add the fried chicken pieces and capsicum
- Sprinkle some water and cover the pan
- Cook on very low heat for 4-5 mins or until the ingredients come together nicely
- Uncover, give everything a good mix, check for salt and add more if needed, and remove from heat
- Garnish with spring onions or coriander leaves
- Serve hot as an appetizer or side dish with fried rice or noodles
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
and add enough water to make a thick batter, similar to bajji batter
Add cleaned and cut chicken pieces
Stir well to combine
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
Fry on medium heat until golden brown. Drain and set aside
Heat oil and add the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chillies
Saute until the onions turn transparent and soft
Then add the soya sauce, vinegar or lemon juice, and tomato ketchup and saute for 2 more minutes
Now add the fried chicken pieces and capsicum.
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
Once done, uncover and adjust salt. Then garnish with chopped spring onions or coriander leaves.
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
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
atta can be used and you can certainly shallow fry
Thank You.I am very helpful for this recipe….many many thanks.
you’re welcome!
Nice recipes I will try, thank you
Amazing .thank u
Tried the recipe….very quick to make and tastes amazing. Thanks!
Thank you Nishant, glad you liked the chilli chicken recipe
Made this for lunch today with rice, potatoes white curry and tempered long beans. Enjoyed by all. Nothing remaining!
lovely to hear. thank you!
Nice recepie
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…
Amazing steps….
I’d made it very easily
your dish is really looking awesum.in taste i tried it later
I tried this recipe and it came out really good and testy. Thanks for sharing the recipe
thank you anisha!
recipe is nice…thanks
Thanks for the recipe. Prepared it for first time n got good compliments from hubby .will prepare again keep posting some more recipe
Thank you Dr! 🙂
Very well explained…
I tried dis recipe., it turned out amazing… Thanks fr sharing..
thanks aarti, glad you like it
super
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
thank you marina!
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!
Thank you Meenu! 🙂
chilli chicken very testy and drink
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?
i added kashmiri chilli powder to this version. also, i think it's an issue with the lighting since i took this picture under artificial lights.
Oh ok. Never mind the color. The dish was simply awesome!!
Thanks so much 🙂 Your recipes are inspiring me to cook more and more!!
But u haven't mentioned chilli powder in the recipe.
sorry about that! will add a note to the recipe.
i am making it for the second time. it is super hit in my family. thanx
nikhat
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.
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
Yes, you can make a gravy with some roasted garlic, soya sauce, chilli sauce, ketchup and cornflour mixed in water.
Tried this today and came out very well. Excellent recipe.
Thanks Naga !
I will certainly try this recipie. thank you.
How about a little tomato sauce
sure why not
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.
This is my second time I am making it.this was a big hit at our dinner table thank u for sharing the recipe
It's past midnight, I NEED to eat this. AND I'm in my gran's strictly vegetarian home. Life is not fair.
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.
Tried this and turned out great! Thanks for sharing!
Rashmi!
Thank you rashmi!
Chilli chicken NRI Style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNCNEZfgxtk
Hi …I made this today for my dad's bday and it came out very well.tq!
hi..naga it is my first visit to your site…this dish looks sooooooooooooo good..i want to eat it nw
Thanks for this very good, fairly quick recipe. I made this today and it came out really well!
Making this right now……
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?
I am afraid I don't have any duck recipes since I don't cook with it.
Prepared this for today's dinner,thanks for the recipe,..:)
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.
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.
I have edited the post
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?
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!
its corn starch amanda 🙂 we call it corn flour in asia (india)
YUM!
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 🙂
hi nags..thanks for this mouthwatering recipe
Absolutely fabulous, on the low days they strike me first 🙂
Looks very good!
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 🙂
ooooohhhh! looks so crunchy and DELISH!!! I would do anything to have a plate of this NOW!!
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 🙂
Looks yumm 🙂 Love Indo chinese anytime 🙂
Looks wonderful and very tempting chicken!
Slurp,mouthwatering here..truly irresistible..
It's past midnight, I NEED to eat this. AND I'm in my gran's strictly vegetarian home. Life is not fair.
Indo-chinese is my most fav cuisine. This looks so good Nags.
That is a very yummy and mouth watering dish
finally a chicken recipe….thanks
Yummy, craving for some right now 🙂 Its sure risky to bloghop after dinner I guess 😉
Unboubtedly, looks great!
Thanks Arundhuti 🙂