Whole Chicken Tandoori / Special Christmas Meal - Guest Post From Priya.R

Hello friends, today am very much happy to announce that today's guest post is from my dear friend and sis Priya.R who writes at Cook Like Priya. She is a very good cook, awesome  photographer, enthusiastic writer and also a very good friend to all. Am sure many of you would have known her well. We have also worked together for an exciting event and it is now running at her space and mine. An awesome giveaway is waiting for you, do take part in it and win the prize of your choice, check it out here. And here is the guest post that I made for her, do check it out to know more about her and the recipe. I love chicken and this is obviously a perfect visual treat for me thank you so much sis. So now lets get to know the recipe in her own words!!

Now over to you sis..

I am so excited to do my second guest post for my dear sister Divya and thank you so much for sharing your space for my recipe. I was so happy when Divya had asked me to do a guest post for her and I could not think anything beyond chicken, really... read more you will know why :P You must all be knowing what fun we have when we do things together. Yes I am talking about out Christmas event. Truly speaking I could not have thought of a better time to post this recipe. There are 2 reasons for me to say this one is that both Divya and Me are hosting the 60 days to Christmas Event and this is a super Christmas Special which will be a super hit in any party. Not only this but Divya is hosting all feasts, mains and sides and this is a perfect recipe. Another reason is that Divya is great Chicken fan and how can I not cook her Chicken  That being said I know many will think Christmas is known for turkey and why chicken. Well most Indians struggle to cook turkey and one major reason would be the massive size. Its practically not possible to cook so much meat and not have a party. Chicken is more friendly in terms of availability and preparing. So here goes the best tandoori whole chicken recipe to all the chicken lovers like Divya. 

About the Recipe

Whole Chicken Tandoori is the most simplest recipe to do, with all the buzz on Christmas all you want is less work in the kitchen. The most important part in making the perfect tandoori chicken is the marinate ie. the spice mix and the soaking of the mix with the chicken. Its ideal to marinate the chicken over-night or atleast 6-8 hrs for flavors to build up. So as promised the work in the kitchen is less for you. Its more time for marination and cooking (oven). So by the time the chicken in cooking we can get busy doing other things :-). This recipe makes the Chicken super soft, I have not used any meat tenderizers and the marination naturally helps the chicken get tender and soft. Tandoori Chicken can be paired with yogurt mint chutney, lime juice or even fried onions. Now lets go to the recipe

INGREDIENTS

Whole Baby Chicken (skinless) - 1 around 5-6 lbs

Oil (refined/ olive oil) - 2-3 tbsp

For Marinate

Yogurt/ thick curd - 1/2 cup

Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 heaped tsp

Corriander powder - 1 and 1/2 heaped tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Kastoori Methi - 1 tsp (optional)

Food color orange &red - 1/2 tsp

Lime/ lemon juice - 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste 

METHOD

• Clean the chicken well with water and make sure that the cavity is fully cleaned well 3-4 times. Pat dry the excess water with kitchen towel and set on a wide bowl. Make insertions on the chicken with knife on all sides. First marinate with turmeric and little salt and set aside for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl mix curd, kashmiri red chilli powder, corriander powder, garam masala,, kastoori methi, salt mix until smooth, check for salt, include the food color and apply to the chicken generously and inside the cavity too
• Cover the chicken and refrigerate over night or for atleast 8 hrs. Bring to room temperature (takes atleast 30 mins), tie both legs of chicken with twine so that it is intact and does not break while baking.
• Pre-heat oven to 400 F / 200 C take a wide baking tray and line with silver foil place the chicken in center and drizzle some olive oil on top and bake for 25 mins. Take it out and flip it to the other side using a fork and let it cook for another 20 mins.
• Again flip to the top side and cook for another 10 mins. Now check the crust and cut on the side to check if the inside is cooked. It should be white and if its pink you need to cook for another 10-15 mins

Serve hot which lemon drizzle and onions.

Cooks Wisdom 

Always take care to wash hands before and after handling meat to avoid spreading of bacteria

Making insertions on the chicken helps the marinate to flavor inside

Tying the chicken legs makes sure that the chicken does not split open after cooking.

You had add your favorite herb spice mix instead of kastoori methi

Using food color is personal preference, if you are health conscious and serving this for a family meal you can avoid it.

Marinating chicken overnight builds lots of flavor and helps chicken to be soft

Never put a cold chicken in the oven it tends to shock the chicken and does not cook properly

Always cover the chicken in the refrigerator to avoid contamination of other food stuffs 

Using silver foil helps the chicken from sticking to the baking tray and also its easy to clean.

Thanks for the awesome treat Sis!! Over to your comments now friends!!