Whole Hara Kukkad

I like fussing around in the kitchen making elaborate meals. I don’t mind dicing, slicing, chopping. But today was all about blending flavors and with absolutely no effort!

This is a variation of the Hariyali kebab we are so used to having in Dilli, except that I have not added crème fraiche and sneaked in some spinach. Also instead of using boneless chicken pieces, I have used a small Cornish hen, cut into half.

Ingredients for the Hara Kukkad are:

1 Cornish hen
2-3 tablespoon hung yogurt
100 grams spinach
50 grams coriander leaves
50 grams mint leaves (I got away by using some which I had frozen last week)
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
2-3 green chilies (or more if you like the heat)
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
Ghee for basting
Salt

Make a smooth chutney with the spinach, coriander, mint, ginger, garlic and green chilies. Add drops of vinegar or lemon juice to smoothen it, do not add water.

Cut the chicken into half and score on both sides. Rub some red chili powder, salt and lemon juice to the chicken. Add all the dry spices and the green chutney along with the yogurt. Use your hands to mix them well on on the chicken. Make sure the marinade is rubbed well on both sides of the chicken. Marinade for 3-4 hours. If you are making this in the summers, please refrigerate.
Preheat oven. Smear the chicken with ghee (or vegetable oil) on both sides. (I poked the two chicken halves on skewers.) Broil for 15 minutes on each side. I like the meat on my kebabs to char a bit on the edges. So I cook for a couple of minutes more.
You can also make this in a gas tandoor or on an Indian tava.
Squeeze some lemon juice on the chicken. Serve the Hara (Green in Hindi) Kukkad (Punjabi for Chicken) with some salad greens. That’s a whole lot of fresh flavors and healthy spinach on your plate. I have a feeling your little Popeye is going to love this.