Chilli Chicken Recipe (Dry & Gravy)

Chilli Chicken is a popular Indo-Chinese dish which is famous all over India. Crispy fried chicken tossed in a spicy tangy chilli sauce to create a fiery experience. Restaurant style chilli chicken is made with onions, ginger, garlic and sauces pairs well with egg fried rice and hakka noodles. Learn how to make spicy chilli chicken recipe gravy and dry version with step by step pictures.

Chilli Chicken

Even though i cook a lot for my family and for this blog. Someday i want to be lazy and indulge myself from restaurant foods. During those days we would dine outside in some of our favorite restaurants, but most of the time, i love to order some foods, cuddle up in a blanket and watch my favorite shows on TV enjoying those hot foods. 

About Chilli Chicken

Chilli chicken is a popular Indo-Chinese dish of chicken of Hakka Chinese heritage. In India, this may include a variety of dry chicken preparations. Though mainly boneless chicken is used in this dish, some people also use bone-in chicken too.

One of my favourite foods to order on a take out is this chilli chicken. There is something so tasty about the restaurant style chilli chicken recipe. It is so delicious and kind of addictive, I have tried my hands on so many variety of chilli chicken recipe and finally got the best one. This is it!

Numerous recipes exist for the dish of the same name depending on the restaurateur, including:

• Green chilli chicken.
• Tangrai chilli chicken.
• Chinese chilli chicken.
• Bengal chilli chicken.

Similar Recipes,
Stir fry Chicken
Chicken with Cashews
Chicken 65

Chilli Chicken Ingredients

For Fried Chicken

Chicken - Use boneless chicken breast chopped into small pieces. You can use boneless chicken thighs. Make sure you cut into small pieces. Chicken cooks faster when cut into small pieces also it coats well in the thick sauce when fried in small pieces.

All Purpose Flour - plain flour creates a binding for the chilli chicken. I like to use combination for flour and cornstarch to create the coating for chicken.

Cornstarch - cornflour or cornstarch creates helps for the crispiness. A combination of cornstarch and plain flour creates the crispy coating.

For Chilli Chicken Sauce

Sauces - Tomato Ketchup, Green Chilli Sauce, Vinegar and Soy Sauce is used in chilli chicken.

Onions - you can use chopped white part of the spring onions in the chilli chicken.

Ginger & Garlic - use chopped ginger and garlic for the flavourings of the chilli chicken.

Chillies - chillies is the main ingredient for making chilli chicken. it adds the spicy kick for the popular indo-chinese dish. Use dry red chillies and fresh green chillies for added spice. I like to add a dash of chilli powder.

Garnish - spring onions and coriander leaves is added for garnish.

 Chilli Chicken Preparation (3 Easy Steps)

Frying Chicken

Start by frying some chicken. Take chicken in a bowl, add in flour, cornflour, salt, pepper, soy sauce, ginger garlic paste and water. mix well. Set aside for 10 mins. Heat some oil for deep frying, drop the chicken in and fry till golden, drain and set aside.

Making Sauce

Now make the sauce, heat some butter in a pan, add in ginger garlic and fry till golden. Add in onions. green chillies, salt and sugar. Toss well. capsicum goes in and mix well. Add in red chilli powder, soy sauce, green chilli sauce, vinegar, ketchup adn mix well. Add in water and cook till oil separates.

Making chilli chicken

fried chicken goes in and toss well. Add in pepper and spring onion. Mix well. Serve hot.

How to Make Chilli Chicken Dry (Stepwise Pictures)

For Frying Chicken (Fried Chicken for Chilli Chicken)

1)Take chopped chicken in a bowl. I use boneless chicken breast which is cut into small pieces.

2)Add in plain flour and cornstarch.

3)Add salt and freshly crushed black pepper in the chicken.

4)Add in soy sauce.

5)Add in ginger garlic paste in the chicken.

6)Add a splash of water in the chicken to mix the chicken with flour.

7)Mix the chicken with flour, salt & pepper together. This will create a thick coating over chicken.

8)Heat oil for deep frying. Drop chicken one by one in batches. Fry till golden brown, it will take around 3 to 4 minutes for the chicken to get cooked.

9)Strain the fried chicken onto some paper towel. Set aside.

Making Chilli Chicken Sauce (dry)

10)Heat a tbsp of butter or oil in a saute pan. Add in finely chopped ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes till light golden.

11)Add in dry red chillies and saute for few minutes. Add in sliced onions, slit green chillies.

12)Season with salt, sugar. Stir fry for few seconds till light golden.

13)Add in sliced bell peppers | capsicum.

14)Saute for 2 minutes till cooked. It will get translucent.

15)Add in soy sauce.

16)Add in green chilli sauce.

17)Add in vinegar. Stir fry the sauce with onions and capsicum till reduced.

18)Add in chilli powder and mix well. Stir fry the spice with onions for few minutes.

19)Add in tomato ketchup. Mix well with the onions.

20)To create the onion masala. Add a splash of water to the onion mix.

21)Mix the onion capsicum with the sauces. Cook for few minutes till thickens.

22)Add in fried chicken in the sauces.

23)Add in crushed black pepper.

24)Add in chopped spring onions and toss well.

25)Toss well chicken with sauces.

26)You can serve Chilli Chicken Dry with noodles and fried rice.

Chilli Chicken Gravy (Stepwise Pictures)

For making chilli chicken gravy style, you have to make the chicken as mentioned above. Coat with flour, seasoning and fry till crispy.

1)For making sauce. Heat oil in a kadai. Add in chopped ginger, garlic, onions and slit green chillies.

2)Saute the mixture till golden brown.

3)Add in salt and sugar. Mix well with the onions.

4)Add in soy sauce.

5)Add in green chilli sauce, vinegar. If you want you can add some red chilli sauce and ketchup as well. But for this version I didn't add ketchup.

6)Mix the sauces with the onions masala. Add some water and bring it to a boil.

7)Mix a tsp of cornstarch with some water and add into the gravy. Cook the mixture till the gravy thickens slightly.

8)This is how it looks. The sauce has thickened and glossy.

9)Add in fried chicken. Cook it with the sauce for 2 minutes.

10)Add in chopped spring onions and coriander leaves. Mix well.

11)Serve hot.

More Indo-Chinese Recipes to Try

Expert Tips

For Crispy Chilli Chicken Batter

To get crispy texture in fried chicken. Here are few tips. Use equal portion of cornstarch to plain flour. Add ½ tsp of baking powder in the chicken when frying to get crispy texture.

Double frying

Fry the chicken in hot oil for 2 minutes, strain this using a slotted spoon onto some paper towel lined plate. Set aside for 5 minutes. Now heat oil again till very hot, Drop the fried chicken again in hot oil and fry till golden and crispy. This double frying technique will make the chicken super crispy.

Chilli Chicken Sauce

Balance is everything. Taste and adjust the sauce with perfect balance of salt, sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. Add in kashmiri chilli powder for the bright red colour.

Dry or Gravy

The consistency of the sauce will give you dry or gravy style chilli chicken.

Serving Suggestions

Chilli chicken is best served with fried rice, noodles or with soups. We enjoy it with steamed veg momos and chilli garlic momos. Here are few options for you to serve with.

Fried Rice - choice of fried rice options are veg fried rice, chicken fried rice, egg fried rice, mushroom fried rice and hot garlic fried rice.

Noodles - my favorite combination with chilli chicken is veg noodles and hakka noodles and paneer noodles.

Soups - chilli chicken can be served as a perfect appetizer with chicken clear soup, hot & sour chicken soup, chicken soup & veg soup.

📖 Recipe Card

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