Greek Balsamic Chicken

Greek Balsamic Chicken

This Chicken dish leaves a fresh taste every time you eat it. It reminds you about the sunny Greek islands around Aegean Sea. I have made a few changes to this dish because of the fact that a lot of ingredients are not available in a regular Indian Market and the packaged ones from Mega Food stores cost a bomb. I am sure my innovation of this Greek dish will suit your taste.

Preparation Time     : 30 minutes
Refrigeration Time  : 1- 3 hours
Cooking Time          : 20 minutes
Difficulty                 : Medium
Serves                      : 4

Ingredients :

• 2 tablespoons ground thyme (use bottled one)
• 1 tablespoon ground Rosemary (use bottled one)
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice (this is known as Kababchini in all Indian stores) 
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger (this is known as Sonth, you can get it in all local stores)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt or as per taste 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Onion powder (if you don't get this, u can use grated onion instead) 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder  (use bottled one)
• 3/4 teaspoon Paprika, (you can use Red chili powder, in case you can't find paprika)
• 12 Bay leaves, finely crumbled ( dry them in Microwave for a minute, cool and crumble)
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 750 gms of Chicken (pieces, wings, halves, whatever)
• Juice of 1 full lime
• 1/4 cup Olive oil (It tastes better in Olive oil, please don't use any other oil)
• Cherry tomatoes (to decorate)
• Chopped Green onions ( to decorate)

Method :

 1) Combine all the dry spices in a mixing bowl and whisk to mix well.

2)  In a separate bowl, whisk together lime juice and olive oil.

3) Rub chicken well with lime/oil mix. Do not marinate.

4 ) Coat chicken with dry seasoning/spice mixture. The idea here is to get as much as possible to stick to the chicken. You can store the seasoning in a leftover spice container with large sprinkle holes and use that to season. This is not a rub, so it should not be applied in rub fashion.

5) Refrigerate spiced Chicken for 1-3 hours, then remove from refrigerator and allow to come to near room temperature.

6) Prepare grill for direct/indirect grilling.

7) Grill chicken in pre-heated oven or Microwave (Grill) set at 200 degree for 20 minutes. Don't worry about the black, it's supposed to be there. In fact, 30-40% of the skin should end up black, but it will not be bitter. Turn once in between.

8) Check the doneness with an inserted fork at the thickest part of the chicken pieces.
Once done, remove to a plate.

9 ) If you have an electric grill or Bar-b-Que plate, you can re fry the chicken pieces on it. Or else hold each pieces carefully with a tong and place over medium flame gas stove, few seconds on each side. One quick dance across the direct heat before serving will help crisp it a bit.

10) Decorate and Serve with plenty of napkins.