Eat Street

Passport & Plate - Smoky and Sharp Grilled Chicken

India | Thursday, February 19, 2015 | 1 photos

Ingredients
Four pcs Quartered Chicken with bone (Serves three)
Mustard powder 4 tbsf
Lemon/Lime juice 1 cup
6 Cardamoms
2 inches Cinnamon bark
5 Cloves
2 medium sized red Onions, finely chopped
Garlic 8 cloves, finely chopped
Chilly powder 2 tbsf
Coriander powder 4 tbsf
Ginger, finely chopped 2 tbsf
Dried red chillies 4
Olive oil as required
2 medium sized tomato, finely chopped
Coriander/Cilantro leaves 1 cup, finely chopped

 

How to prepare this recipe
1. Clean chicken pieces and pat dry. Add olive oil, mustard powder, half of the lemon juice, chilly powder, ginger and half of the chopped garlic and coat properly. Marinade in refrigerator for 1 hour.
2. In a frying pan, add a dash of olive oil and add cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves. Add the chopped onions and the remaining garlic and saute till light brown. Then add the coriander powder and chopped tomatoes and stir till the tomatoes mix in the pan to a uniform blend. Keep aside.
3. Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.
4. Sprinkle some salt on a baking tray to soak excess drippings. Take the marinaded chicken and put them on a raised grill and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
5. At 25 minutes, turn the chicken pieces over and complete remaining time of baking to give it a smoky flavor.
6. Warm up the blend set aside from before.
7. Take the baked chicken pieces and add to the blend.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Add the remaining lemon juice.
10. Serve hot with steaming basmati rice.

 

The story behind this recipe
During one of my solo travels in Europe, I was with a young couple from Sri Lanka. After an ensuing discussion about the relative merits of Koelsch over Heineken and Budweiser, and after downing a couple of beers each, we felt the need to eat something since all of us were feeling hungry. We voted as to who would cook, and I was to recreate the perfect meal for the evening. Over the next two hours, well past midnight, under the summer night sky, we sang and danced, and I prepared this eclectic `Indian' dish from the available ingredients. One of my specials for a young romantic couple. They told me next morning that it was the most delicious dish they ever had! Brings back a special memory for me for a truly romantic meal.