Twice Cooked Mock Tandoori Chicken Food

TWICE-COOKED MOCK TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Put chicken in a deep roasting pan.
• Put oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Stir in the ground spices and cook until just fragrant, no more than a minute. Stir in the yogurt, then spread mixture over chicken. Cover and put in oven; bake until chicken is just cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. (You can prepare chicken up to a day ahead; if you are not going to grill or broil immediately, put whole pan in refrigerator after it cools down a bit.)
• Light a charcoal or gas grill or heat broiler; rack should be about 4 inches away from heat source. Remove chicken from yogurt sauce, scraping away any excess.
• Grill or broil over direct heat, turning once or twice, until skin is crisp and charred and meat dries out a bit, about 15 minutes total. Serve hot or at room temperature.

TWICE-FRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Cure chicken: In a large bowl, add salt and mustard and onion powders, and combine until well blended. Add the chicken pieces and get in there with your hands to coat each piece well. Put the coated pieces of chicken on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, keeping the skin intact; lightly cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Bring the cured chicken to room temperature. (You don't want to fry ice-cold chicken, because it won't cook all the way through, plus it will chill the frying oil.) Meanwhile, make the batter: In a large bowl, add the cornstarch, flour, and salt. Slowly pour in the cold water, whisking continuously, until the mixture is smooth and the consistency of thin pancake batter. Add more water as needed to thin the batter.
• Heat oil: Clip a candy or deep fry thermometer onto a large, heavy pot. Add enough canola oil to fully submerge the chicken pieces-about halfway up the side of the pot. (Oil expands as it heats, so don't overfill the pot.) Heat the oil over low heat until it reaches 300 degrees F. (It's fine if the oil temperature goes up to 350 degrees F, because it will drop once the chicken goes in.) Coat chicken: When the oil is hot, add all the chicken into the batter and fully coat each piece.
• First fry: Starting with the dark meat, use tongs to pick up each piece and allow the excess batter to drip off. Gently swirl the tip of the chicken in the oil to set the crust; this will prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Then ease the rest of the piece into the oil. Repeat with all the chicken pieces. Fry for 10 minutes.Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to make sure the chicken pieces don't stick together or to the bottom of the pot. If they do stick, gently separate them with the spoon; try not to tear the delicate crust!
• After 10 minutes, use the slotted spoon to transfer the chicken pieces to drain on a wire rack or paper towels on a baking sheet. The chicken will not be fully cooked-there's a second fry. Let the chicken rest, 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, reheat the oil to 350 degrees F. (Note: The chicken can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated; bring it back to room temperature before the second fry.) Second fry: When the oil is hot, fry the chicken pieces again, this time for 4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
• Use the slotted spoon to transfer the chicken pieces to a clean wire rack set over a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve. (Note: Frying oil can be reused several times for frying chicken. Cool the oil completely, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean jar. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)

BONNIE'S TWICE BAKED BARBECUED CHICKEN

Steps:

• 1. BRINE THE CHICKEN Cut your chicken into serving pieces, remove skin. Leave bone in. Cut a couple of slashes at an angle across the top of each piece about 1 1/2 inches apart almost to the bone. Here is how to brine the chicken. It is very easy to do. All you need is the kosher salt and enough water to cover the chicken pieces. (not table salt) I use a large plastic container big enough to hold all the pieces and one that will fit in my refrigerator. Place 1/2 cup KOSHER salt in the container and add the water, stir well, and then add the chicken pieces. Let it brine ONLY a couple of hours, then rinse the chicken, discard the brine, and return the chicken to the refrigerator.
• 2. FIRST BAKING Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Take a plastic bag, put in the one cup of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, shake to coat. Then lightly brown the chicken pieces and place them slash side up in a deep dish sprayed with Pam. At least 13x9. (I use a deep lasagna dish as in the photo) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
• 3. MAKE THE SAUCE Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the ingredients for the sauce and keep it hot until the chicken has baked.
• 4. SECOND BAKING When the chicken has finished baking, remove the chicken to the stove, and pour the pan of simmering sauce directly over the chicken, taking care to cover evenly. Return the dish to the oven, and bake for 30 minutes more until it is bubbling and starting to brown. I cover with a tent of foil until ready to serve.
• 5. Cook's Tip: I encourage you to not skip the brining step as it makes the meat fork tender and juicy. Enjoy!

WHOLE ROASTED TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• Mix spices and lemon juice.
• Add yoghurt.
• Color with coloring to make an intense red/purple color.
• Add oil.
• Skin the chicken and tie it up nicely.
• Make deep incisions all over the thighs and breasts.
• Put the chicken together with the marinade in a tight plastic bag and massage the marinade with your hands into the incisions.
• Keep refrigerated for at least 4 but preferably 12-24 hours, turning the bag now and then.
• Roast the chicken for 30 minutes in 200 deg C/400 deg F oven with grill, turning often and patting with any marinade left in the bag.
• Raise the temperature to maximum and roast for another 20 minutes. The chicken should be well browned and almost black burnt in color.
• Serve with lemon or lime wedges either as an appetizer on lettuce leaves or as a main course with rice. In either case, standard yoghurt serves as sauce.

FOOD SAFARI'S TANDOORI CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large bowl, add yoghurt, ginger, garlic, tandoori paste, food colour, cumin, coriander, garam masala, salt, chilli and turmeric bowl and mix well.
• Once completely mixed, rub mixture into chicken covering all the chicken.
• Seal chicken in the bowl with cling wrap or zip lock bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to two days.
• Pre-heat the oven to it's highest setting and bake chicken for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes reduce the oven heat to 120oC/248oF and cook until tender.
• Serve with steam rice, salad and plain yoghurt.

MOCK CHICKEN

Steps:

• Saute onion in butter until clear.
• Add tomatoes.
• When tomatoes are softened, add mixed herbs, salt and pepper.
• Remove from heat.
• Add beaten egg.
• Return to heat and cook until thickened.
• Serve on savoury biscuits.

TWICE-COOKED CHICKEN FOR TACOS AND ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Place chicken in a 12 in skillet, add water and seasonings, and cook on high heat until water starts to boil and absorb into the chicken.
• Turn heat down to med-low and work your chicken with a wooden spatula to break it up, until it all of the water is absorbed.
• The finished product should look like shredded chicken. You may have to add more water. The chicken WILL absorb it. It's pretty hard to drown.