Tandoori Chicken

Servings: 2 (1 whole chicken per person)

Ingredients:

• Cornish hens - 2, (about 300-350 gms each) whole & skin-on, cavities cleaned
• Plain Yogurt - 1 cup
• Lime juice - 1 tbsp
• Jarred Capers - 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste - 2 tsp, freshly made
• Ginger paste - 1.5 tsp, freshly made
• Chili powder - 1.5 tsp (I like it hot)
  
• Shan Tandoori Spice mix - 3 tbsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1/2 cup, melted
  

Methods:

• 1. Clean the chickens thoroughly. Wipe up any moisture with a paper towel. Set aside
• 2. In sealable bowl, mix in all the ingredients (except the butter) for the marinade. Rub the marinade thoroughly all over the chickens. Make sure to stuff some of the marinade inside the cavities and underneath the skin.
• 3. Marinate for 2 days, sealed and refrigerated or minimum of 2 hours. However, the longer you marinade the tastier it gets.
  

• 4. On the day of cooking, take the chickens out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before roasting.
  
• 5. Preheat your oven to 400F (200C). Tie the legs of the chickens or set it in with a roasting skewer, so that they will not open up while cooking.
  
• 6. Wrap a roasting tray with some aluminum foil. Place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Clean the top rack and spray some oil on it to avoid sticking.
• 7. Melt the stick of butter and mix it in with chicken marinade. Place the chickens, leg side up, directly on to the top rack. Bake for 1.5-2 hours, basting it with the buttered marinade every 15 min. When you baste it, turn the chickens as well so that it will cook and get charred up all over evenly.
• 8. The tray on the bottom rack will be collecting all the dripped off juice from the chicken. If you like, you can place some potatoes, onions etc, on the tray before you place it on the bottom rack, under the chickens. The vegetables will be cooked in the marinade dripping from the chickens and taste absolutely fabulous.
  

• 
• 9. To check that the chicken has been cooked all the way through, place a knife on the thickest part of the chicken, if the juice runs clear, you chicken is cook.
  
• 10. Once cooked, let it rest for 10 min before serving. Serve with any side you like. I serve the Tandoori chickens with freshly baked rolls and potatoes baked in the dripping juice of the chickens. Bon Appétit!

Roast Chicken with Garlic Mustard Rub

I bought these tiny little Cornish hens which were too cute to look rather than cook. They were so small that they would fit on your palm. However, for our New Years dinner I decided to cook them(finally) and the result was this. I had also roasted some vegetables with it which were a great accompaniment to any roast (I think). Enjoy!

Servings: 2

Ingredient:

• Cornish Hens - 2, whole
• Garlic - 1 tbsp, crushed or paste
  
• Dijon Mustard - 3 tbsp
• Ketchup - 3 tbsp
• Chili powder - 2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp (or to taste, remember the mustard will be salty)
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
  
• Butter - 1 stick/ 8 tbsp
• Garlic - 1 whole bulb (for roast)
• Vegetables of your choice*

Methods:

• 1. Wash and pat dry the chickens. Leave the skin on, as it will help keep the meat moist.
• 2. In a bowl mix in all the ingredients except the veg. Rub the marinade on the chickens thoroughly. Make sure you also put some under the skin of the breasts and thighs.
  
• 3. Let it marinade for about 24 hours, min of 2 hours. The longer you marinade the tastier it gets.
• 4. Preheat your oven to 400F (200C). On a roasting tray**, first place the vegetables (peeled and cut) that you want to roast. Open up the cloves of garlic from the whole bulb. Reserve 4 cloves and scatter the rest (skin on***) on the tray with the vegetables. Sprinkle some salt, pepper on top.
• 5. Cut the stick of butter in 8 pieces (to make 8 tables spoons). Scatter around 4 pieces on top of the veg. Stick 2 remaining pieces of butter(breaking them in smaller dollops) underneath the skin of the chicken breasts and thighs.
• 6. Stuff the cavity of each chickens with 1 piece of butter and 2 cloves of garlic. Use small metal roasting skewers to keep the legs close to the breast. You can also tie the legs with a pieces of kitchen string.
• 7. Bake for about 1- 1.5 hour (20 minutes per pound of meat). Rotating the chickens every 15 min. If you do not want your chicken to be crispy on the outside, then after the 1 hour mark, insert a knife to the thickest part of the chicken. If the juices run clear, your chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the oven. Otherwise let it cook till the skin gets charred and crispy.
  
• 8. Let the chickens rest for about 15 min before serving. Serve with a side of the vegetables roasted in the delicious juices dripping from the chickens

Hints:
* I used 1 large onion quartered, 2 med potatoes cut in wedges, 3 large carrots chopped in 2 inch long pieces, 1 whole bulb of garlic, cloves separated.
** Line your roasting tray with aluminum foil for easy clean up.
*** Leaving the skin on while roasting, leaves the garlic flesh really juicy and sweet. It is also really easy and fun to peel them while eating. You can also use roast a lot more than a bulb in this recipe and reserve the extra for uses in other dishes. I use them in salads, pasta, sandwich spreads, etc.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Herb-Garlic Butter

Servings : 4

Ingredients:

• Turkey Breast - 1, 5-6 lb, cleaned up and brined*
• Butter - 1/2 cup, at room temperature.
• Garlic cloves - 4-5, crushed
  
• Cilantro - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
  
• Italian/ Flat-leaf parsley - 1/4 cup, chopped finely
• Capers - 2 tbsp, chopped finely
  
• Ready made Pesto - 2 tbsp
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl, mix in the butter, garlic, cilantro, parsley, capers, pesto, salt, and pepper to make the herb-garlic butter.
• 2. Prepare the turkey breast, by cutting a slit, on each side of the breast, horizontally, to create a cavity for the spiced butter.
  
• 3. Also, on the top of the breast, make 4-5 slit marks, on the skin of the breast.
• 4. Take spoon full of the butter mixture, and generously rub it in the cavity created, stuffing the cavity with the butter on each side of the breast.
• 5. Rub the remaining butter on the top of the breast and also below the breast, on the underside.
• 6. Place some vegetables** of your choice, on a roasting tray and place the turkey breast on top, so that it sits perfectly.
• 7. Bake on 400°F(200°C) for about 1.5 hours. Check the turkey by inserting a knife on the deepest part, if the juices run clear, your turkey is cooked through.
• 8. The juices from the turkey will seep down to the vegetables and flavour them. However, there might be too much of over flowing juice that need to be reduced. So, once the turkey is cooked, take it out of the oven, remove from the roasting pan and place it on cutting board. Cover with a foil and let it to rest for 20 min.
• 9. Meanwhile, return the roasting tray with the vegetables back in the oven and roast for 20 more min. This will allow the vegetables to soak up all the juices and become crispy on the edges.
• 10. Once cooked, serve the turkey with a serving of the roast vegetables and freshly baked bread rolls.
  

Hints:
* Brinning means, soaking the turkey in a solution of water , salt, and sugar. You can also spice up your brine by adding other spices. I have used a simple solution of water, salt, and whole black peppers, and soaked the turkey breast in the solution for 2 days, refrigerated.
** I used a combination of Idaho potatoes, broccoli, baby carrots and one large onion quatered. Once peeled and cleaned, sprinkle some salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil over the vegetables before placing them on the roasting tray.