Hello there! If you follow me on The 'Gram you might notice that this is a bit delayed and for that I do apologize! You know what consumed me? Life. Kid. Wife. A job and holiday prep. Seriously, other folks out there who do this on the regular and without fail... I salute thee. And to moms and dads who work tirelessly. It is a hard life indeed!

That said, I do bring some good stuff today! And it is crispy, it's golden brown, it's spicy and it is so very very Indian! And delicious! The Whole Roasted Tandoori Chicken!

Safe to say, I can just eat any meat in a fire roasted Tortilla and a sauce for the rest of my life. Plus, this Chicken is so tender and juicy, with all the right flavors and textures this is going to be one memorable bird.

Whole Roasted Tandoori Chicken
Makes 1 roasted whole Chicken. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

1 medium whole Chicken (around 3-4 lbs)
2 tbsp Coriander powder
1 tbsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp dried Fenugreek
2 tbsp fresh Ginger (peeled and pureed)
2 tbsp fresh Garlic (peeled and pureed)
1 Lime (halved)
4 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Salt
Spicy Green Chili (Optional. Pureed with Ginger Garlic)
Cilantro for garnish

Optional toppings: Pickled Onion Rings
1 cup vinegar
1/2 onion
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar

Lay out the Chicken flat on the working surface and pat it dry with paper towel. Make 5-6 diagonal slits all over the Chicken.

In a bowl combine all the spices powders including salt, and mix well. Set up your workstation with all the ingredients—the spice mix, ginger, garlic and green chili paste (which can all be pureed in a coffee grinder. Add 2 tbsp oil if needed) around the chicken.

Rub the chicken with some oil all over. Then peel away the skin from the ends and get your hands under its skin with a bit of oil. Next rub the entire Chicken with the spice mix, coating evenly the entire surface of the bird, and then getting under the skin, as well as in the slits as well. The more time you spend doing this the better the flavor is going to be. Next squeeze the lime juice all over and rub it in evenly.

Pack this up into a large and deep covered container and close the lid tight, and place in the fridge. And we have a marinated Tandoori Chicken! Half way there guys! But we must wait— overnight to be exact! If you're in a hurry you could pop this into the oven in around an hour or so but really, overnight is preferred. The marinade really gets into the skin and the tissue, giving you a really deep flavor.

When you're ready the next day, bring out the chicken and let it come to room temperature (around 45 minutes). And in the last 20 minutes start to preheat your oven at 375 degrees.

While the oven is doing its thang, we can swing those pickled onion rings. Super easy.

Bring out a mason jar or any other lidded container. Add vinegar, salt, sugar. Close lid tight. Shake really well for about a minute. Add thinly sliced onion rings. Seal lid. Shake well. Set aside. P.O.R. done!

Now the oven's nice and hot! Grease a baking dish with oil liberally, and gently place the Chicken into the dish and place it in the oven to bake for around 45 minutes or so or till the internal temperature reaches 165 to 170 degrees. Baste with marinade juices every 15 minutes.

When you're done remove from oven and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with Cilantro.

Looks amazing right?! I could hardly wait to dig in when I took it out of the oven, but held myself back in the interest of better flavor.

Now you can eat it just like that over some bread, or wrap it in a fire-roasted Tortilla, some lettuce and some lime juice with the pickled onions we just made, and you have yourself a delicious little wrap that tastes amazing and so fresh.

Hope you guys enjoyed that! Till next time.

Love and Nomaste.