Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear Readers and Friends ! On this occassion I would like to thank each and everyone of my readers who kept up my spirits with their inspirational comments. I would also take this opportunity to thank my Family, especially my husband Vijay who has been a constant source of encouragement. My late father and God for everything.
This is mine and V's first time trying to roast a whole chicken. I was actually inspired by Ina Garten who demonstrated how to roast a whole chicken. Her show has always fascinated me. We decided to choose chicken as it was just the two of us at home and Turkey would have been too much on the table :) And this being our first time celebrating Thanksgiving, we decided to keep it simple :) .
Roasting a whole chicken was not as difficult as I imagined. We had purchased 2 whole chickens from BJ's. Today morning, V kept it in the refrigerator for thawing. I was in full enthusiasm in the morning to start the Thanksgiving cooking:) . After a cup of refreshing coffee made by V, I entered my Kitchen :) .
The chicken was taking a long time to thaw, hence I put the plastic covered chicken in a vessel with warm water. After it was completly thawed, I removed it from the cover and washed it in cold water. I cleaned it completly and wiped it dry. Then I generously marinated it outside and inside with salt , pepper and any other spices I could find in the kitchen. I cut the butter in small cubes (around 2 tablespoons) and put it inside the chicken. Then I rubbed the chicken with olive oil outside and inside. Its important to generously season and grease inside and outside the chicken if you need a good flavor.
I cut small slits in some parts of the chicken. Then I also seasoned it with the Tandoori paste. I stuffed a variety of vegetables (shallots, green chilli, lemon juice (or cut lemon), mushroom, coriander leaves, curry leaves, sliced onion) inside the chicken. Tied the legs of the chicken as shown in the picture with a thin piece of cloth (usually a twine is used for this purpose, but we didnt have any, hence it was V's idea :) and it worked very well).
Placed the chicken, breast side up, inside the oven , 375 degrees F. Roasted it for 1 hour, 10 minutes. To check the chicken for doneness, cut the hardest muscle part of the chicken (mainly around the thighs). If the juices flow clear, it means the chicken is ready.
For extra safety, I decided to broil the chicken for 10 minutes. For that, I removed the cloth tying the legs, and kept it in the oven, which I turned to broil setting.
The color of the chicken was too good. Me and V were so excited. V carved the chicken after it was done. I had made Egg Biriyani and we had a nice heavy lunch :) I must say it was quiet tiring, but, its a nice way to celebrate the essence of Thanksgiving:) I look forward to doing it every year :)
RM2-Day 27- I cant wait to see what my fellow marathoners have made :
1) Siri, 2) Srivalli, 3) Ranji, 4)PJ, 5) Curry Leaf, 6) Medha,
7) Priya, 8) Bhawna, 9) Raaji, 10) Ruchii, 11) Anu, 12) Kamala,
13)DK, 14) Divya Kudua, 15) Rekha, 16) Divya M, 17)Lakshmi,
18)Raaga , 19) Lakshmi Venkatesh , 20) Sripriya, 21) Viji,
22) Kamalika, 23)Pavani,>,24)Karuna,25)Roochi
