Andhra-style chili chicken is a fiery, hot, and spicy chicken dish popular in South India, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. It is known for its liberal use of green chilies, which gives the dish its intense heat and flavor. It is often called Nagarjuna Andhra chilli chicken or green chili chicken. While the name suggests origins in Andhra cuisine, it is particularly popular in Bangalore restaurants and as a street food throughout Karnataka.
The dish is made with bone-in chicken pieces, green chilies, ghee, oil, and a few spices. Key ingredients include green chilies (often ground into a paste), turmeric powder, soy sauce, and vinegar. The chicken is typically marinated and then fried with the green chili paste and other ingredients. There are many variations, including a restaurant-style version where the chicken is marinated overnight and stir-fried in ghee when ordered and a street food version that is deep-fried and tempered with green chilies and curry leaves. Andhra chili chicken is commonly served as a starter or appetizer, or as a side dish with rice, biryani, or rasam rice.
The dish is widely available in restaurants and online food delivery services. For example, Andhra Chilli Kitchen in Bangalore offers Andhra chili chicken dry for ₹229. Andhra Chilli in Bangalore offers Andhra-style chili chicken for ₹340. Charminar Indian Cuisine in Scarborough, Canada, offers Karnataka Green Chilli Chicken for $17.99 CAD. Ching's Chilli Chicken Masala is manufactured by Capital Foods, and can be found in spice retail and wholesale shops.
