Cover picture source: (L): Buhari Hotel; (R): Your Food Lab
Last year, the classic Chicken 65 rose to third place on TasteAtlas’ list of the best fried chicken dishes in the world. It was previously at number 10. The move up saw Indians all over the world take a bow, especially those in the kitchen at Buhari Hotel — touted as the birthplace of the iconic starter — on Chennai’s Mount Road. To date, the signature recipe remains on the eatery’s menu.
While the years have seen some equally delicious chicken starters emerge, the hype around this one sustains. Don’t be fooled by its simple appearance. As you bite into the crispy appetiser, be warned, several flavours are about to clamber for your attention — spicy, tangy, and hot.
But, the question that begs to be asked here is how a hyper-regional snack once heroed in a Chennai eatery became commonplace on menus around India and the world.
And why 65 out of all numbers?
One lore claims it was the number of ingredients that dictated the starter’s name; others contend it was the year of its creation (1965), while yet another suggests that the chicken is marinated for 65 days before being cooked.
As the years progressed, so did the lores, and one of the absurdest to date is that the name owes to 65 pieces of chicken being added to the dish. But the answer is not that far-fetched. Take a guess, before we reveal it.
A dilemma and a popular starter
One wok in the Buhari Hotel in Chennai is always occupied. After all, orders of Chicken 65 keep coming in. The legacy of the hotel traces back to 1951 when a former sheriff of Madras, A M Buhari, while in Colombo completing his studies, discovered his love for the culinary arts. Eager to scale his idea — that of making food a medium of connection — Buhari returned to India and started the eatery in Chennai.
The hotel’s website claims he was the “first person in the city of Madras to combine the fine dining that the British had perfected, with Indian food to shape a whole new dining experience”. Through Buhari Hotel, he began crafting a menu that would bring people together.
While the menu featured a long list of items, the soldiers — regulars at the messes in Chennai — did not always have the luxury of time to browse through. The dilemma of choosing between dishes was compounded by the language barrier. So, we can only assume that one soldier sampled the crunchy chicken starter at number 65 on the menu, loved it, and word soon spread. Soon, everyone wanted ‘Chicken 65’, a name that stayed in the common lexicon.
Customers flocked to the eatery to gorge on the starter, while lyrics of ‘Dum Maro Dum’ (a hit song in the era) filled the room. The jukebox that Buhari had installed — the hotel was one of the first in Chennai to have one — was doing the job well.
Chicken 65 was loved by all. And the passage of time hasn’t dulled its popularity one bit.
What is fascinating is how the dish, while being touted as an appetiser, has managed to avoid being typecast. It is versatile; many customers even make a meal out of it, enjoying the crunchy chicken with some rumali roti (limp Indian flatbread).
Where to eat Chicken 65?
- Erode Amman Mess
Chennai’s Erode Amman Mess has two contenders on the menu when it comes to zesty flavours. One is, of course, the Chicken 65, and the other is the Andhra chilli chicken, which is a slightly regional take on the cult recipe. The latter sees long slit-green chillies, curry leaves, spices and garlic come together to elevate the spice quotient.
As Mathangi Kumar, chef and culinary consultant shares, “These bold and spicy dishes are not for the faint-hearted, but they keep diners coming back for more. The batter used to coat their Chicken 65 and Andhra chilli chicken is consistent and never greasy–you’ll always find the thickness of the crust and the size of the meat pieces rightly balanced.”
- Buhari Hotel
A M Buhari’s menu not only features the Chicken 65 but also some other justifiably legendary classics.
The list includes biryani (fragrant dish of rice cooked with meat and spices), samsas (savoury pastry stuffed with meat and vegetables), and other chicken variants which go by their pseudonyms — Chicken 78, Chicken 82 and Chicken 90. Head here on an empty stomach — the menu promises to lull you into a food coma.
- Dakshin
If you’re in the mood to sample some authentic South Indian fare, Delhi’s Dakshin Canteen is where you should head. The menu is speckled with dishes from Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana; and as the eatery claims, it is attempting to showcase recipes “from the homes of Mangaloreans in Karnataka, Chettiars, Rawthers and Tamizh Brahmins from Tamil Nadu, Syrian Christians, Moplahs and Nairs from Kerala, Reddys and Naidus from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and many more communities across the spectrum.”
Their inspiration lies in the ‘Military Hotels’ across the South that were once run for the army personnel and their families.
Until you manage to make it to one of these eateries, here’s a recipe for Chicken 65 by Chef Saransh Goila.
Edited by Khushi Arora
