Dish · indian
Chilli Chicken
Battered, fried chicken tossed in a sauce of soy, garlic, and chili with bell pepper, sharper and saltier than most Indian curries. Served dry as a starter or wetter with gravy over rice.
Where it comes from
The dish comes from Kolkata's Chinese immigrant community, particularly the Tangra neighborhood, where Hakka cooks adapted Chinese stir-frying to ingredients and tastes available locally. It became the anchor of what's now called Indo-Chinese food.
What cooks argue about
Cooks argue over dry versus gravy style: a dry toss keeps the chicken's crust crisp, while a thickened sauce version softens it but carries more flavor with rice.
Nobody has published a chilli chicken recipe yet. The page stays out of search until one exists, which is the rule for every thin page here.