Tandoori Chicken

By Malooga

Ingredients

• One chicken, 3-4 pounds
• 2-tablespoon coconut oil (one to melt and pour over chicken the day before, one for braising)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups coconut milk
• Zest of two lemons
• Ten garlic cloves, unpeeled
• Two teaspoons tandoori seasoning (If you want to make your own, use equal parts cardamom, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, ginger, nutmeg and turmeric. Store whatever you have left over.)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Details

Adapted from huffingtonpost.com

Preparation

Step 1

The day before you plan to make the chicken, wash chicken and pat dry. Put chicken in big glass bowl or on plate. Melt one tablespoon of coconut oil in microwave for 45 seconds. Pour coconut oil over chicken. Sprinkle one teaspoon salt and two teaspoons tandoori seasoning over chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge (you can also place the seasoned chicken in a big ziplock bag if you don’t have a glass bowl.)

The day you plan to make chicken, bring chicken to room temperature and heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a heavy, oven-proof pot on the stove (make sure it has a tight-fitting lid; I used my mother’s old yellow Dutch oven). Add butter and coconut oil. Brown chicken all over, for about 10 minutes, until all sides are golden brown.

Sprinkle chicken with lemon zest and add garlic cloves and coconut milk. Cover and bake in oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 15 minutes, so an hour and a half altogether.

The chicken will be falling off the bone by the end. Remove the bones and save for stock. Remove garlic from their shells. Voila. You are done, and everyone you hand this to will be deliriously happy.