Charcoal-Grilled Lemon Chicken

What it is: A free-range half chicken, brined 12 hours in lemon, garlic and salt, then grilled over charcoal and finished with charred lemon and toum — a Lebanese garlic whip that we make in-house each morning.

The potatoes are par-boiled, tossed in chicken fat and roasted in the wood oven until their skins crisp. The pickled chillies cut through the fat and lift the whole plate. It's humble, it's precise, and it's the dish most first-timers order twice.

How we cook it

The grill runs on mango wood and oak, burning at 280–320°C. The chicken goes on skin-side first, then we flip once — no pressing, no poking — until the skin is lacquered and the juice runs clear. A squeeze of the burnt lemon over the top just before it leaves the pass.

"Good chicken doesn't need a marinade that shouts. Salt, acid, smoke and time — that's it." — Chef Arjun

Details

• Sourcing: Free-range birds from a farm in Tonk, 80km from Jaipur
• Brine: 12 hours · lemon zest, garlic, bay, black pepper
• Grill: Mango wood + oak charcoal
• Allergens: Garlic · Gluten-free on request (swap potatoes)

Chef's Pick Signature grill