Continental Cuisine

W for Whole Roast Chicken

Continental Cuisine, Food, Indian Cuisine / By / July 25, 2021

This is a dish which was adopted in my kitchen out of a combination of pure laziness of a couch potato and the utter greed of a foodie. I didn’t feel like working too hard for a dinner, yet I wanted something decadent to pamper by taste buds. Even though it didn’t happen on that very day, the idea was born. It does require pre-thought to buy the main protein but the ingredients are ones found in every Indian kitchen and the steps laughably simple.

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken – 1 (~800gms.)

Curd – 4 tbsp.

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tbsp.

Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Cumin powder – 1 tsp.

Corinader powder – 1 tsp.

Garam masala – 1 tsp.

Meat Masala – 2 tsp.

OR,

Tandoori masala – 4 tsp.

Oil – 1 tbsp.

Method:

  1. Wash the whole chicken thoroughly. Pat dry. With a fork, make pricks in the chicken so that the spices are absorbed well.
  2. Add all the ingredients and mix well. Massage onto the chicken with a gentle hand. This helps in absorption. Marinade for 2 hours at the least.
  3. Preheat an oven to 180°C for 10 minutes.
  4. Place the marinaded chicken on the rotisserie stick, making sure the weight is distributed evenly on both sides. Tie the legs together if required.
  5. Now cook for 40 minutes at 180°C.
  6. Turn up the heat to 220°C and cook for 15 more minutes or until chicken and spices are cooked.
  7. Garnish with chaat masala and serve hot with green chutney and sliced onions.

This dish is best accompanied with garlic toast speaking from personal experience, but it is an amazing meal on its own. It requires minimal amount of intervention but it gives you the maximum enriching experience!

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 23 – Letter “W”.

G for Grilled Chicken

Continental Cuisine, Food / By / July 26, 2021
Grilled Chicken cover pic

Grilled chicken or any grilled meat for that matter is a no muss no fuss kind of dish which is healthy, is easy to make but is superbly tasty. While it may sound like something exotic, something which we usually eat at a fine dining place, it is actually a basic dish which can be a dish in itself or be used as a focal point and then a full-fledged meal built around it.

The Continental Palate

Continental food refers to dishes which originate in the continent of Europe be it Spanish, Italian or French etc. Continental dishes favor herbs rather than spices and their sauces are not used as gravy rather as a dressing to the main course – mainly meat. This dish I’m about to give the recipe for is a continental dish though I do not know which country it specifically belongs to. This is my take on Grilled Chicken – recipe is totally a self-invented one.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken – 250gms.

Vinegar – 1.5 tsp.

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 tsp.

Salt – to taste

Pepper – 2 tsp.

Dried Thyme – 3 tsp.

Dried Oregano – 3 tsp.

Dried Rosemary – 1 tsp.

Red Chilli flakes – 1 tsp.

Onion – 1 large

Potato – 2 medium

Oil – 2 tbsp.

Butter – 10gms.

Method:

  1. Make light slice marks on the chicken. It is preferred that the chicken is in 2 or 3 large slab like pieces. Marinade with vinegar, ginger garlic paste, salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 2 tsp. thyme, 2 tsp. oregano, rosemary and red chilli flakes. Keep for atleast half an hour.
  2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion and cut the potatoes into thin round slices.
  3. Heat oil in a grill pan.
  4. Arrange the onion and potato slice around the edge of the frying pan and sprinkle salt, pepper, thyme and oregano over them.
  5. Lay the marinaded chicken pieces in the centre.
  6. Now scoop butter into small globs and distribute over the chicken pieces and the onion and potato. Let it cook on low flame.
  7. After 15 minutes, turn the chicken and the onion and potatoes. They should have a nice brown char on them. If not, keep for longer. This depends on the thickness of the chicken slabs.
  8. Let the other side me similarly grilled for 15 minutes or so until fully cooked.
  9. Grilled chicken with accompaniments is ready to feast on! Have it with lightly toasted bread for best results.

This quantity should be enough for 2 people, multiply accordingly for more numbers. This is such an easy dish to make with minimum prep. but with utterly delicious results.

This post was written for Blogchatter A2Z challenge; Day 7 – Letter “G”.