indigoanalysis

Chicken 65 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, when we were ordering ‘Chicken 65′ at a restaurant it struck me – How did this popular, deep fried chicken dish get its name? I first wanted to brainstorm independently and come up with a handful of possible theories. The first theory I thought of was that – Actual preparation of the dish must have required a mixture of 65 ingredients. That was the first and last thing I could come up with before my phone popped out. While the dish was getting cooked inside, I started going through a lot of literature online. It was disappointing to know that there isn’t a single, known reason for that peculiar name (the number 65). There are a couple of possible theories like:

1. Actual preparation of dish took 65 days to complete.

First looks: 65 days for a single dish to get ready sounds a bit fictitious. Even at the slowest cooking rates, 65 days would turn anything into charcoal. Moreover, today we see chicken 65 stalls dotted all over the city who cook it up in a matter of minutes (Given they have those pre-made lumps of chicken).

Why it could be true? Preparation time of a dish doesn’t just indicate the cooking time. It also includes the time taken to ‘prepare’. Some popular Indian dishes do take a long time to prepare. Such long times are usually to soak up the traditional raw spices used in these dishes (may be 65 or lesser days of soaking up in this case). Commercial stall shortcuts do not affect the final product in a great way but it might give connoisseurs a reason to crib about.

2. It is an easy way to append numbers to make the naming easier. (and confusing)

First looks: This theory actually makes sense, but where are all those other dishes with other numbers? It sounds too simple to be true.

Why it could be true? It is generally known that the dish came into existence during the early 60′s. It must have been the year 1965 when it was first made and as an easy way to deal with names of dishes, the cook decided to add the number 65 to the name.

A theory bolstered by this Wikipedia statement: “Chicken 65 is alleged to be a dish introduced in 1965 by the Buhari Hotel restaurant in Chennai. They also offer Chicken 78, Chicken 82 and Chicken 90, introduced in 1978, 1982 and 1990 respectively.” Maybe it was also the 65th item on the menu. The Buhari hotel is famous for its experiments with chicken recipes. [Most probably the real reason. Read the 'Chicken 65, a tale' part in that article]

3. The chicken used for making ‘Chicken 65′ should be 65 days old.

First looks: A 65 day old chicken doesn’t really taste any different from a 64 day old chicken (I don’t claim to have tested this).

From left to right (chicken's face): 65 day old chicken, 64 day old chicken. (Photo credit: Allie's.Dad)

Why it could be true? It couldn’t