Mogo Chips 65 is the ultimate vegetarian starter. This vegan version of Hyderabad famous Chicken 65 or Gobi 65 is packed full of aromatic flavours. Mogo Chips or Yucca Chips are double-cooked by coating in a delicious red masala, frying, and then tempering again with hot red chillies and curry leaves!

MOGO CHIPS 65

Name: MOGO CHIPS 65
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: South Indian, East-African
Ingredients: 500g cassava chips frozen or fresh; 4 tbsp. plain flour; 3 tbsp. rice flour; 2 tbsp. cornflour; 3 tbsp. red kashmiri chilli powder (see notes); 1 tbsp. garam masala; 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder; 1 tbsp. ginger paste; 1 tbsp. ginger paste; 6-7 curry leaves finely chopped; 2 tbsp. fresh coriander/cilantro finely chopped; Salt per taste; Tap water as needed; Oil to deep fry; 2 tbsp. oil; 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic minced; 2 sprig curry leaves; 1 tsp. mustard seeds; 1-2 dry red chillies

I love mogo chips - I would go as close to say it's a full-blown obsession. Nothing beats the traditional fried mogo with a little salt and red chilli powder and Imli but I am always looking for more ideas!

Our all-time favs that are always cooked on repeat are:

Mogo Chips - the OG!

Masala Mogo - an Indo-Chinese fusion that is a must-try!

Masala Mogo Chips - a variation of Masala Chips

Chill, garlic and lime Mogo - delicate flavours for air-fried mogo

Farali Cassava and Peanut Stir-fry - great for fasting

Chilli Mogo

Tandoori Mogo

Farali Mogo Vada - ideal for fasting

I was recently moving out of my accommodation to my apartment and didn't fancy cooking whilst I was amidst packing. I ordered Gobi 65 from a local takeaway and instantly fell in love with the flavours.

We were eating mogo at home one day and I thought that adding those flavours to mogo would be a wonderful idea!

And I'm so glad that I experimented! Mogo is a brilliant starch for absorbing flavours. Due to its mild creaminess, it goes so well with many different cuisines.

What is 65?

I took to google to investigate the origins of this recipe, and it seems as if there are a number of theories. The most common seems to be that Chicken 65 (the original recipe) originates from a fine-dining restaurant in Chennai in 1965.

Flavour of Mogo 65

From the abundance of curry leaves added to this dish, it is obvious that it is a true South Indian recipe. Red chilli brings heat to this recipe however our version isn't overly spicy and is suitable for the whole family to eat.

The creamy mogo soaks up all these flavours really well and deep-frying really intensifies the aroma.

Ingredients for Mogo Chips 65

(full recipe and method in the recipe card below)

For the mogo chips and batter, you will need

Mogo - also known as cassava or yucca. You can use either fresh or frozen mogo. Fresh mogo can be found in most supermarkets and whole foods stores.

Major British supermarket chains stock frozen mogo chips in the frozen section. You can also go to most Indian or South Asian grocery stores and find mogo there.

Plain flour

Rice flour - rice flour gives the batter a delicious crunch once deep-fried. Do use rice flour in your batter if you can.

Cornstarch

Curry leaves - adding chopped curry leaves to the batter is a must! It is what gives this dish the "65" spin.

Fresh Coriander

Ginger-garlic paste

Red Chilli Powder - we used Kashmiri chilli powder which gave us a gorgeous red colour without adding too much spice. If you want your Mogo Chips 65 very spicy, add red chilli paste too along with Kashmiri chilli powder.

Garam masala

For the temper, you will need

Oil

Ginger-garlic paste

Mustard Seeds

Dried whole red chillies

Curry leaves

How to make or cook Mogo Chips from frozen

To cook frozen mogo chips on the stove, firstly boil a large pan of water. Add a little salt and a tsp of flavourless oil.

Once the water is boiling, add the frozen mogo chips. When the knife slides through easily, the mogo is cooked.

This will take roughly 15-20 mins, but keep checking the mogo!

Once cooked, drain the mogo and set aside.

Allow it to cool before continuing with your recipe.

How to cook fresh mogo

Peel the mogo (cassava) using a potato peeler.

Using a large knife, cut the mogo into chips or bite-size chunks if you prefer.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.

Add the cut mogo and simmer for around 15 minutes or until a knife runs smoothly through the mogo.

Drain the water.

Air Fryer mogo Chips

To air-fry mogo chips, first, cook the mogo according to the steps given above.

Preheat your air fryer to 205C for 5 minutes.

Air fry for approx 12 minutes at 205C.

Detailed recipe found in our MASALA MOGO CHIPS post. The link is given above.

How to make Mogo 65

First, boil the mogo chips using the steps above.

Set aside the mogo to cool and drain the water thoroughly

Prepare the batter.

Dip the mogo into the batter and deep-fry or air-fry.

This recipe is suitable for air-frying as the batter is quite thick and should not drip too much.

You can either eat the mogo once it is fried with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice - the coating will be deliciously crunchy, or you can proceed to the next step if you want further flavour!

In a pan, add the ingredients for the temper and cook until the mustard seeds crackle and the garlic-ginger paste is fragrant. Add the cooked mogo chips and toss.

Serve hot!

Can I make Mogo 65 in advance?

I do not think that mogo 65 can be made in advance. Part of the appeal of this recipe is the delicious crunchy coating of the mogo. By making this recipe in advance, the mogo begins to go soft and also dry.

This recipe is best eaten immediately whilst it is still hot.