Special Chicken Roast

 Shared Recipe

If there's one dish that I would no doubt include while I have guests home for lunch or dinner, is this Special Chicken Roast blended in a special mix of spices and herbs. This has been everyone's all time favourite and a recipe that has been asked for by every single person who has eaten this at our place.. I named this 'Special Chicken Roast' 'coz trust me, this is as special as it sounds. 

Well, my mother learnt this from one of her friends and she, from someone else, so I have absolutely no idea about its origin. Anyway, a BIG thanks to the inventor of this recipe. I had mentioned earlier that I do not blindly follow a recipe 100% and I bring in a touch of my own or innovations to anything I try. But, this is one dish which I follow cent percent the original recipe. It's an absolute perfect blend of ingredients and a very simple dish. Yes! Very Simple! :)

When my mom learnt this from her friend, she said it was called chicken 65. But, the real chicken 65 served in restaurants will in no way come any closer to this. So, I cannot agree to that name, and I cannot find an apt name to this dish, so let's call it the 'special chicken roast'. New names are most welcome. :)

Ingredients :
Chicken, medium pieces	-		1kg
Ginger	-		2 inch piece
Garlic	-		9-10 cloves
Egg	-		1 no.
Yogurt	-		3 tablespoons
Tomato ketchup	-		2 tablespoons
Soya sauce	-		1 tablespoon
Coriander powder	-		1 and 1/2 tablespoons
Chilli Powder	-		3/4 tablespoon
Salt	-		To taste.
Lemon juice	-		of half a lemon
Oil	-		1/2 cup
Green chilli	-		8 nos.
Curry leaves	-		1 cup
Coriander leaves	-		1 cup

I always try to make recipes as simple as I can, and try to incorporate an easy method. I like to finish my cooking as fast as I can, minimizing the steps involved. Therefore, I blend all the ingredients together. That's the only variation to the original recipe in this.

Preparation Method :

Clean and rinse the medium chicken pieces. Into a blender add the garlic, ginger, egg, yogurt, sauces, spice powders, salt and lemon juice and blend into a fine paste. Oh yes, there's one ingredient I omitted out from the original recipe and that's red food colour. You can add it, if you prefer having that red and spicy look to the chicken :) Marinate the chicken pieces well with this paste. Leave this in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. It's ok if you don't too. I usually skip it when I run out of time.. In a wok, pour in the oil. Gently squeeze out each chicken pieces and fry them in the oil. Squeezing out all the juice from the chicken pieces is an inevitable part of this recipe. We require the squeezed out juice, so save it for later. Turn the chicken pieces around when one side begins to brown. Drain them out onto a kitchen paper towel when the chicken pieces have browned perfectly. Make sure the chicken pieces do not dry out. They should brown and yet be slightly moist. Pour out a little more than half the oil, leaving almost 3 tablespoons of it back. In the same wok, add the chopped green chillies and sauté until you begin to choke :) Yes! I mean it. that's when you know that the chillies have released its oils. But, if you do not choke, doesn't mean you have to burn the chillies ;) just sauté it in the oil for a couple of seconds on medium heat and then add the curry leave. Do not hesitate to add a cup of curry leaves. This recipe requires the flavour of curry leaves. If members of your family do not like curry leaves, you can very well chop them finely. Sauté for a couple of seconds and add half the chopped coriander leaves and just a stir or two and quickly pour in the marinade. Keep roasting the marinade, until all the liquid evaporates and the oil begins to clear. Make sure this browns slightly. Add the fried chicken pieces and rest of the coriander leaves. stir until all the chicken pieces are coated well with the roasted marinade mixture. Bring down the flame to low, cover with a lid and warm up the chicken pieces for 5 minutes and turn off the flame. Allow it to sit for a couple of minutes. The more the chicken is left covered that way, the better it absorbs all the flavors. Try it, and trust me, it is really worth trying!  If you want it a little less spicy, use less spicy chillies, but, please do not compromise on the numbers. The chillies, curry leaves and coriander leaves are the flavors that stand out in this recipe.