Moving to Oslo and grilled chicken

Before coming to Oslo, I promised myself that when I am in Oslo, I will try out new recipes and will blog about them. I am really inspired by the Bong mom’s cookbook, and love how she shares her daily stories along with the recipes. Well, maybe I won’t be that good, but then what is the harm in trying.

It has been exactly 2 months since I moved in here. Within a week I got my residence permit, which means I can now travel to all Schengen countries without a visa. I got my TB check-up done, have not heard from them since, hence everything is alright. Most of my close friends know the situation before this move happened; the small house, the problems of the small house, the unclear future, my plans for Vimal’s marriage and Durga Puja going down the drain. But, all is well that ends well, and I am finally in Oslo.

My first accommodation in Oslo was a sharing one. The address was Torshovgata, a nice residential area, not far from the city centre, connected by both bus and tram. The flat was nice, two bedroom apartment, shops and restaurants nearby. Though when I first entered the house, I felt it was very small. Then with time, as I visited other accommodations, I started feeling that I have the best. Though my bedroom was very small, I made it up with spending most of the time in the hall and the open kitchen. But finally, after a super long journey (more about the journey later), it was a real relief to find a bed, clean and arranged. I took about a week to settle down, and after 8 weeks, moved out (which you know already).

My room-mate here, Kiran, is a vegetarian, though not pure, but still I was a bit reluctant to cook chicken because of him. But, then while shopping in Rema 1000 (nearby my house, the cheapest Norwegian grocery shop I found), I saw these awesome chicken breasts and I could not stop buying them. I had to freeze them for a few days (since I was again reluctant), but one day, the inner self started poking me, “How long will the chicken freeze? It will die of cold!”. And I told my inner self, “Dear, it is already dead!”

A few minutes of browsing on the internet, and I was ready with the recipe. The most time consuming task is defrosting the chicken, it is an art to defrost chicken in microwave, you have to walk the fine line of defrosting and ending up getting the chicken cooked. So, here goes my version:

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 onion
• 6 big cloves of garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• 2 green chilies (none of my dish is complete without them)
• 1 teaspoon Olive oil
• Coarse ground pepper (to taste)
• A pinch of turmeric for the colour (acts as antibiotic too)
• Salt (to taste)
• Any other seasoning to your like (I added the pizza one, which has oregano, thyme and the likes).

Procedure

• Defrost the chicken, best done with fresh chicken (as always).
• Grind onions, garlic, ginger, chilies. The other spices are already ground.
• Apply the ground paste and all other spices on the chicken including salt and oil. Mix well.
• Keep the chicken with the marinade for minimum 2 hours. (Yes, I know it is long, but that really enhances the taste. I kept for 1 day, in the refrigerator of course).
• Set oven in grill mode, and put on highest temperature.
• Place the marinated chicken breasts on the grill, and leave to cook.

It should be done in 20 minutes. Do check in 7-8 minutes, and turn the pieces. Once a golden colour comes on both sides, you should consider it done. Serve with salad and sauce, as I have done.