Fauzia’s Kitchen Fun

Fauzia’s Saucy Baked Chicken

Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Servings : Serves 4-5

This recipe is by far a family favourite. Takes literally NO effort to make, even a complete novice in the kitchen can make this and have rave reviews! It's also a healthy dish, in the sense that there is no frying involved and just 2 tbsp of oil is used. It's incredibly tasty and very versatile. Can work as a dinner meal or a lunch one, depending on what you serve with it. Leftovers, when shredded off the bones, work beautifully in rolls and sandwiches or in a tossed pasta salad or even as topping for a pizza…I've used leftovers in just about every other meal hahaha! I hope you all enjoy this wonderful recipe as much as I do! 🙂

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken, without skin, cut into 8 or 10 pieces
  • 2 tbsp. oil
  • 3 tbsp. tomato paste/puree (if your tomato paste is of a good bright colored type, then first use 2 tbsp. and check how the color looks when blended with the rest of the ingredients...if you find you need more you can then add as necessary)
  • 1 medium red onion, chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp. garlic paste
  • 2 tsp. red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp. turmeric
  • 2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsp. tandoori masala powder
  • 1 mug plain yoghurt
  • 2 green chillies (add more if you want it spicier)
  • 1 bunch of coriander, with stems (not just the leaves)
  • juice of 2 lemons (if your lemons are very juicy then use just the juice of 1)

Instructions

Clean and wash, then drain the chicken and set aside in a bowl.

Put ALL the other ingredients into a blender. Blend everything together until smooth. If you find the color is not as vibrant as you would like, add a tsp. of tandoori masala and a little more tomato paste, and blend again. Then pour over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate, let it marinate preferably for about 2-4 hours, but up to overnight is fine.

Pour everything into a glass pyrex baking dish, cover with foil. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place your baking dish on the center rack and bake for 30-35mins.

(At this point your whole house will have the most appetizing aroma. So be warned, tummies will growl!) 😀

Remove dish, open the foil and turn the pieces over. Baste them with some of the liquid, just scoop with a spoon n drizzle over the pieces to keep them moist. Replace foil and put the dish back in the oven. Bake for another 30-35mins.

Finally remove the dish from the oven and discard the foil. Turn the pieces over once more and baste again with the sauce just to retain moisture, then put the tray back into the oven (without the foil this time) for about 10 minutes or so just to give the pieces a nice color. (If you have a grill in the oven, turn it on at this point to give the chicken a fantastic finish).

Once ready, remove and cover loosely with the foil until time of serving so the heat is retained.

Serving options: I've served this dish with many different things in the past, but the best accompaniment in my opinion is fries, some sort of bread like naan or pita or parathas, a fresh salad and an icy cold drink.

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