Fun with Flavour

I was eight years old when I started to cook.  It happened because of necessity and morphed into a hobby and passion; to the point that I would have friendly cooking competitions with a couple of my friends.  In my teen years, I cooked extensively for church functions and my family.  Since immigrating to Canada, I started to experiment with spices and cuisines of different cultures in traditional Indian cooking to create an array of taste.  It is my hope that I will be able to share recipes of my favourite meals with you on a fairly regular basis.

Following is a recipe for Roasted Chicken, I created last night.

Roasted Chicken in Mango and Pomegranate Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 Medium Chicken quartered with Skin on it.

1 tsp of Coarse Salt.

2 tsp of Chilli powder.

1 tsp of Paprika.

1 tsp of Montreal Chicken spice.

1 Tsp of Lemon Pepper.

½ tsp of cumin powder.

3 Tsp of cooking oil.

2 Tsp of honey.

1 Medium Mango (slightly on the hard side as it will have sweet and sour taste).

1 cup of Pomegranate Arils.

¼ cup of Cilantro leaves.

Instructions:

·         Mix salt, chilli, paprika and Montreal Chicken spice in a dish.

·         Rub the spice mix on the chicken and let it sit for an hour.

·         Blend mango, pomegranate and cilantro, honey, cooking oil, cumin and lemon pepper in a blender to make a thick sauce.

·         In a frying pan (preferably cast iron) heat ½ cup of oil. 

·         Put pieces of chicken face down in the oil to fry.  Use weight on the chicken pieces to flatten them a bit and to make sure that the char is even.  For weight, I cover either the bottom of a pot or frying pan with aluminum foil.  For maximum results, I hold the handle of the weight with one hand and with the other press down on the chicken.

·         Turn chicken over after five minutes or until the skin is crispy.

·         Fry with the weight on for five minutes or until the chicken is nicely charred.

·         Remove the chicken from the frying pan and generously rub Mango and Pomegranate sauce on it.

·         Place the chicken (skin side up) in the roasting pan and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes on 375 degree Celsius.

·         Broil each side of the chicken for five minutes each.

·         Enjoy with nice salad and mashed potatoes or rice pilaf or side of your own choice.