Baked Chicken Tikka (Whole)

I usually tend to bake a whole Chicken during Thanksgiving occasion. Turkey is traditionally roasted during Thanksgiving but is too bland and too big a bird for me, so I turn to my all favorite chicken. Let me tell you one thing, when you bake this bird in your own oven the satisfaction you will get is out of this world :) [ I know, animal right activists better stay away from this post :)]

It is very simple to bake, all you have to do is clean the chicken nicely, make your masala(marination) and stuff it inside out, then say a small prayer and leave it in the oven to work its magic! :) My kid is thrilled whenever I bake a whole chicken! I also like to stuff it with biryani sometimes [ that recipe some other time :)] 

I usually place the roasted bird on a bed of some fancy rice preparation and then serve it with baked beans, brussel sprouts, smashed potatoes, some soup, and a dessert making it a full fledged calorie loaded meal! 

So for now, let us take a look at the Baked Chicken Tikka.

Ingredients:

• 1 mid-size chicken (whole)
• 1/2 packet chicken tikka masala (shaan)
• 5 tbsp lemon
• 4 tbsp oil( or butter)
• 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder (that gives color like Kashmiri or Byadgi) 
• pinch orange color (optional)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2-3 tbsp butter (for basting)
• salt as per taste 
• 4 tbsp vinegar (for cleaning chicken)

Preparation:

• Clean the chicken nicely inside out with some water and vinegar. This also takes away the raw smell of the chicken. Make small cuts all over the chicken with a sharp knife, so that when we coat the masala it gets in it and marinates well.
• Make a mixture of 1 tbsp lemon + 1 tbsp oil/butter + 1 tsp ginger garlic paste + 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder 
• Coat the inside of the chicken with this paste.
• Now make a mixture of chicken tikka masala + 4 tbsp lemon juice +3 tbsp oil/butter. Coat the outside of the chicken with this paste nicely. Tie those chicken legs together with a thread.
• Marinate it for good 4 hours or overnight.
• Remove it from the fridge and preheat your oven for 400F/200C. Take a baking tray and place cooling or grill rack over it and then place the marinated bird on it.
• Baste with butter all over it and bake it for 30 minutes. 
• If you like it nicely roasted, apply butter or oil every 15 minutes. 
• After 30 minutes, flip the chicken and bake for another 30 minutes. Every oven can have slightly different settings. So after 1 hour of cooking, test it by piercing with a sharp knife, if the knife comes out smoothly that means your chicken is done.
• Lastly just put the oven on a broil mode for say 3-5 minutes to get those burnt marks. 
• Take it out and serve with Masala Bhat, Beans, Lemon Wedges, Sliced Onions, Raita etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Notes:* I like spicy marination on my Chicken as per my taste buds, you can go easy with chili powder and take little less portion of tikka masala as well.

Health Benefits: Chicken is one of the best non-vegetarian sources of protein. It is lean meat, which means that it contains more amount of proteins and less amount of fat. Apart from protein, chicken is rich in several minerals like phosphorus and calcium, that helps keeps bones in mint condition. Also, it has selenium which has been known to cut a risk of arthritis.Chicken has two nutrients that are great for reducing stress – tryptophan and Vitamin B5. It boosts immunity (remember how we eat chicken noodle soup when we are sick?) and promotes good heart health as it is rich in vitamin B6, plays an important role in preventing a heart attack. so I say YAY to chicken!