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Chilli chicken recipe | How to make chilli chicken dry & gravy
BY SWASTHI , ON AUGUST 3, 2017, 384 COMMENTS

Chilli chicken recipe – Learn with ease how to make chilli chicken recipe gravy & dry restaurant style recipe with step by step photos. For those who do not know what this is.. chilli chicken is one of the most popular Indo-Chinese style chicken appetizer or starter that is served in Chinese restaurants across the globe. Vegetarian alternates are made with paneer, mushroom, potato and tofu.
chilli chicken recipe dry indian
Boneless chicken (fillets or cubes) are marinated in soya sauce, chili sauce and pepper. Then deep fried and then seasoned again in sauces to get the best chinese chilli chicken. For a healthier option you can shallow fry or grill the meat, details mentioned in the instructions below.

You can also check this crispy chilli chicken recipe.

These tender bites taste mildly hot, sweet and sour. It is best served hot as an appetizer or with
Veg fried rice
Schezwan fried rice
Hakka noodles
Schezwan noodles

Usually in the restaurant made chinese chicken, ajjinomotto or monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used to give a unique flavor to it. Food color is also used to bring the deep red color and are oily and tend to dehydrate a lot. This recipe of chilli chicken dry doesn’t need ajjinomotto or food color, but still can be made the best.

If you wish to brine the chicken first as they do in restaurants to yield tender juicy bites, please scroll down for brining tips.

Restaurant style popular chinese style chilli chicken recipe below
4.8 from 111 reviews
Chilli chicken recipe | How to make chilli chicken dry & gravy

Prep time
2 hours
Cook time
20 mins
Total time
2 hours 20 mins

A popular chicken starter or appetizer from the Indo-chinese cuisine.
Author: Swasthi
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Yield / Serves: 3
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
Oil for deep frying
marination
250 grams boneless chicken
1 ½ tsp. chilli sauce
1 ½ tsp. soya sauce
¼ tsp pepper powder
2 to 3 tbsps corn flour (1 tbsp more optional)
2 to 3 tbsps plain flour / maida (optional use to get restaurant style)
¼ tsp. red chili powder
Salt little
Seasoning
1 ½ tsp. soya sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce (you can substitute with ketchup)
½ tsp. red chilli powder
¼ tsp pepper powder (optional)
¾ to 1 tsp. vinegar
½ tsp. sugar
Veggies
1 medium onion thinly sliced or cubed
2 tsps garlic chopped
¼ to ½ cup cubed bell pepper / capsicum
1 to 2 green chilies slit and deseeded
1 sprig of spring onion chopped (optional)
4 to 5 leaves of celery chopped finely (optional)
Spring onions for garnish
How to make the recipe
Preparation of chilli chicken
Marinate chicken with chilli sauce, soya sauce & pepper powder. Set aside until you prepare the rest. At least for 45 minutes. 2 hours is best. Meanwhile you could chop your onions, bell pepper and make the sauce ready for seasoning.
Sprinkle corn flour, plain flour (optional) on the meat along with salt and mix well. If you like to have yours coated with crunchy flour like we get in restaurants, then use 1 more tbsp corn flour and 2 tbsp. plain flour. Add chili powder. If you wish to use egg, you can add it now. Mix well.
Prepare the sauce .Add soya sauce, chili sauce, red chili powder, vinegar and ½ tsp sugar to a bowl and mix well.
Making chilli chicken
Heat oil in a pan and deep or shallow fry till it is done. Keep stirring to fry evenly. Do not over fry, it tends to turn hard. It can also be grilled at 240 C for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven.
When the it is cooked, drain on a kitchen tissue.
Remove off excess oil from the pan, just keep 2 spoons oil in the pan. Add garlic fry for about a min, add onions, capsicum, spring onions, and celery and green chilies and fry till they turn slightly soft for about a minute or so.
Pour the sauce that was prepared at step 3. Let the sauces bubble up well. To make chilli chicken gravy, follow step 9 from step by step pictures.
Add the fried chicken, Mix well. If it looks dry, sprinkle little water. Saute on high flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
Serve chilli chicken recipe hot as appetizer with fried rice or noodles.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 390 Fat: 18g Saturated fat: 1g Carbohydrates: 26g Sugar: 9g Sodium: 858mg Fiber: 3g Protein: 30g Cholesterol: 80mg

To make the best out of the chilli chicken recipe I suggest using kashmiri chili powder or paprika and saute well in the sauces on high flame which also lends a smoky flavor. If you do not use enough chili powder, the final dish may not get a good color. So try adding more or less than mentioned in the recipe.
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How to make chilli chicken recipe – restaurant style

To a bowl, add 250 grams of cubed boneless chicken, 1 ½ tsp soya sauce, 1 ½ tsp chili sauce and ¼ tsp pepper powder. Marinate and set aside until you prepare the seasoning ingredients. If you have time you can leave it for 45 minutes. This helps the meat to absorb the flavors.
marinate meat using sauces for chinese chilli chicken recipe
Sprinkle 2 tbsp cornflour, 2 tbsp plain flour if using and salt on the chicken. If you like to have a thick crunchy coating of the flour like we get in restaurants, add 1 tbsp more of plain flour and 1 tbsp more of corn flour. Mix well to coat. If the chicken is too dry, sprinkle little water and mix.
Optional: You can also use egg for binding instead of water. One small egg for ½ kg (1 lb) chicken works well. I have not used
Sprinkling of flour for indo chinese chilli chicken
Add chilli powder or paprika and mix again. This helps to get a good color. This is optional.
addition and mixing of chilli powder
This is how the chicken looks. If you add too much water or make a batter, it will absorb lot of oil and will not turn crispy.
egg and sprinkling water for making chinese chilli chicken
Heat oil until hot enough. Shallow fry or deep fry the pieces until golden. Drain off on the kitchen tissue. It can also be grilled in a preheated oven at 240 C for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.You can as well put them on a skewer and grill.
frying or grilling marinated meat to make dry chilli chickendrain fried fritters
Prepare the sauce for seasoning in a bowl. This way you will not end up using more sauces. Add 1 ½ tsp. soya sauce, ¾ to 1 tsp. vinegar, ½ tsp. sugar, ½ tsp. red chilli powder or paprika, 1 tsp chilli sauce or ketchup, ¼ tsp pepper powder (optional) to a bowl. I am using red chilli powder here again for the color.
prepare sauce for making dry chilli chicken recipe
Remove the oil to a bowl and Keep 2 tsps. Oil in the pan. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add onions, green chilies, spring onions, celery and capsicum. Fry until they turn slightly tender. They must still keep the crunch.
seasoning garlic veggies sauces for chilli chicken recipe
Add the sauces and allow to bubble.
bubbling sauce mixture for chicken chilli recipe
Add the chicken and Mix. If you feel it is dry, sprinkle little water. Fry on high for 2 to 3 minutes till it looks dry.
fry the mixture on high for dry chilli chicken recipe
Serve hot.
Garnished popular indo chinese dry chilli chicken is readyThis recipe can easily be adapted to make a chilli chicken gravy or more saucy as well. Here are the steps to follow
Add 1 tsp corn flour, pinch of salt to half cup water or stock. Stir well to break any lumps. Taste this, it must be slightly salty. You can also add a tsp tomato ketchup if you like it. Pour the mixture towards the end. Stir well. The mixture comes to a boil and thickens, switch off. Add more sauces if desired. Adjust more or less water, corn flour, salt as needed to make more gravy. It can be served with fried rice. This is a picture of the dish which I made it another time, a bit more saucy.
chilli chicken recipe saucyTips to make your chilli chicken juicy, tender from inside yet crunchy outside.
Some times after frying the chicken it turns dry and becomes fibrous, tough. Here are the tips to prevent that.
Brining chicken – why should you brine chicken ?
Brining is a process of soaking meat in salt solution so that it remains tender and juicy when it is deep fried. If you have ever wondered how the chicken served in restaurants is so tender, soft and juicy? It is due to brining. There are so many ways of doing it. One of the most common is to make a solution using vinegar, salt and water. The other easiest way is to soak it in salted butter milk. Add 2 to 3 tbsps. of yogurt to 2 cups water, add salt and whisk it up. Add chicken to it. Allow it to rest for at least 4 to 6 hours in refrigerator. If you are short of time 45 minutes to 1 hour would be fine. Drain up and use in the recipe as needed.
brine chicken in buttermilk
Addition of egg also locks the chicken juices and prevents it from becoming dry and tough:
If you don’t mind using egg you can use only the egg white during marination, it keeps the meat moist and tender . It also helps in binding the flour well and gives a good crust. you can use 1 egg white for 250 grams or full egg for 500 grams of chicken. A alternate to food color is using paprika or good red chili powder like kashmiri or byadgi.

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Comments
DOLLFI says

AUGUST 27, 2017 AT 4:05 AM

I tried chilly chicken it was jus lky restaurant style …All are happy tasting it…

Reply
Raji V R says

AUGUST 14, 2017 AT 6:55 AM

I am also try same Chicken 65, Its vert tasty and same like 5 star hotel food ,My family is very happy

Reply
Ann says

AUGUST 4, 2017 AT 11:57 AM

Hi. I made the chilly chicken recipe and it was perfect.
Followed your brining instructed and kept it overnight. Turned out great. Thanks for this!!!

Reply
Soorya says

AUGUST 2, 2017 AT 5:20 PM

Hello,
I just had a small doubt. I’m planning to bake the chicken in the oven. Can we skip the addition of flour and cornstarch and just add the egg alone?

Reply
Soorya says

AUGUST 2, 2017 AT 6:04 PM

I have done the the brining already.. wanted to add the egg to make sure that the chicken comes out juicy n tender after baking. My chicken always tend to turn hard when baked 🙁 especially boneless tandoori chicken

Reply
swasthi says

AUGUST 3, 2017 AT 1:30 AM

Hi Soorya
I dont think egg will coat the chicken well without flour. I am sure it will mess up with lot of drippings. Instead you just grill with only sauces and other ingredients. Skip egg as well

Reply
Soorya says

AUGUST 7, 2017 AT 5:35 PM

Hi,
I tried the recipe and it came out so well.. the chicken was so tender and juicy. I added lightly beaten egg whites to the chicken and mixed it well before I kept it in the oven ( I hadn’t received your reply when I made it).
As you mentioned, it did not coat the chicken completely but it did to a small extent. Anyway the chicken was really soft after baking and I was very happy. It should be the brining or the egg..
Next time I’ll try it without the egg and see what happens..

Thank you so much for the recipe. I made it twice last week as my husband loved it a lot 🙂

Reply
swasthi says

AUGUST 8, 2017 AT 1:36 AM

Welcome Soorya
It’s the brining that makes the chicken tender and soft. Yes next time you can just skip egg and make it will still turn out good. Thanks for sharing the outcome

ASWATHY ANEESH says

AUGUST 2, 2017 AT 2:18 PM

I tried it ………… really superb…..

Reply
Lakshmikandhan says

JULY 30, 2017 AT 9:06 AM

Awesome tasty dish

Reply
swasthi says

AUGUST 2, 2017 AT 9:52 AM

Thank you

Reply
Sreetama Pal says

JULY 5, 2017 AT 5:46 PM

Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. It turned out to be so good. Everyone liked it.

Reply
swasthi says

JULY 7, 2017 AT 1:14 AM

Welcome Sreetama

Reply
Shw says

JULY 2, 2017 AT 6:29 PM

Tried the recipe and it turned out well 🙂

Reply
swasthi says

JULY 5, 2017 AT 2:04 PM

Thank you

Reply
Anu says

JULY 1, 2017 AT 9:22 AM

Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe. Tried for a baby shower last day and it was a huge hit. Appreciate your hardwork.. Masha Allah

Reply
swasthi says

JULY 1, 2017 AT 10:51 AM

Welcome Anu
thanks for sharing the outcome. Happy to know it was good

Reply
Zubia khan says

JUNE 6, 2017 AT 8:32 AM

This looks so tasty and delicious . I just can’t wait to make it at home , I am sure me and family will definitely like this recipe. It brings mouth water:-) I also follow this website to make good and healthy food at home.

Reply
swasthi says

JUNE 9, 2017 AT 2:00 AM

Thanks For following Zubia
Ramadan mubarak!
Have a great time!

Reply
neeha says

MAY 31, 2017 AT 7:05 AM

Hiii Swasthi ji, ur recipe was fantabulous i’ve tried this for very first time n i got the best compliments from my friends n family…… tnx for sharing ur recipe with us…… ☺️☺️☺️☺️

Reply
swasthi says

JUNE 9, 2017 AT 2:39 AM

Welcome Neeha
Glad to know it came out good. Thanks for sharing the outcome.
🙂

Reply
Dd says

MAY 26, 2017 AT 10:14 AM

Thank you for the recipe..I got compliments from my colleagues.they said it tasted really gud..like restaurant style..anyone who is planning to make it can follow this recipe. sure will turn out gud..

Reply
swasthi says

MAY 29, 2017 AT 2:53 PM

Welcome Dd
thanks for trying and sharing the outcome. Happy to know it turned out good.

Reply
Doyel says

MAY 23, 2017 AT 4:48 AM

Thnkzzz alot fr da superb nd easy recepi….i hv no idea abt coocking..bt seeing dis awsm recepi i m going to try my frst dish….

Reply
swasthi says

MAY 24, 2017 AT 12:26 PM

Welcome Doyel
Yes do try it

Reply
Momo says

MAY 20, 2017 AT 11:44 AM

Trying your recipe today for the 10th time… love it.. thank u for your time to explain each n every bit of it. Its detailed and very helpful… thanku alot

Reply
swasthi says

MAY 24, 2017 AT 2:01 PM

Welcome Momo
Very very happy reading your comment! Thanks a lot for trying and sharing the outcome.
🙂

Reply
Ahaana says

MAY 13, 2017 AT 2:02 PM

Thanks for d superb recipe…my frnds just loved it when I cooked it fr dem .. .u r just too good…

Reply
swasthi says

MAY 22, 2017 AT 2:40 PM

Welcome Ahaana
Thanks for trying and sharing the outcome
Glad to know it turned out good

Reply
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