Servings : Serves 4-5
A roast chicken recipe that has a distinctive desi-twist to it. It is flavourful and spicy, without compromising on the authentic ‘roast chicken’ feel of crispy skin, tender and moist meat and a heart-warming appearance.
By far my favourite weekend roast chicken recipe!
I have served it with masala chips, but as with all roast chicken dishes, you can serve it with whatever you like best! Mashed or roast potatoes, veggies or rice, salad…etc etc…
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, approx 1.5kg - wash the chicken well, then blot it dry using some kitchen towels. Prepare the marinade with ingredients below.
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste/puree
- 4 tbsp. yoghurt
- 4 tbsp. coriander with stems
- 2 green chillies
- juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 2 tsp. red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp. cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp. garlic paste
- 1 tbsp. ginger paste
- 2 tsp. salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper powder
- 2 tbsp. tandoori masala
- some red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
Blend the marinade into a paste, then smear it all over the chicken. Run your fingers under the skin, between the flesh and the skin and gently create some gap. Rub marinade in there and make sure you get all the nooks and crannies. Rub some marinade in the cavity as well. Truss the chicken by tying the legs together with some kitchen twine or string. Put the chicken in a bowl with the remainder of the marinade, cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Remove the chicken from the fridge an hour before baking so that it comes to room temperature. Chop 1 onion, 1 inch piece of ginger and 2 cloves of garlic. Place them on the roasting dish. Squeeze 1 lemon into the onion/garlic/ginger, instead of discarding the peel of the lemon just dump it in there as well. Also put some coriander stems if you have any and pour 1 cup of water into the dish. Now place a roasting rack on the baking dish. Place the chicken breast-side down on a rack. Leave the remaining marinade in the bowl for now (if there’s any extra marinade). Drizzle 2 tbsp. of oil all over the chicken. Preheat the oven to 220 C, bake the chicken for 30 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 180 C and turn the chicken over so breast side is now up. Bake again for 30-35 minutes more.
Check if chicken is ready. If you’re using a meat thermometer, it should read about 175 C when poked in the thigh meat.
Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Cover loosely with a foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, scrape all the onions/garlic/ginger from the roasting dish (discard the lemon peels), put it in a processor or blender. Add 1 big tomato (chopped), 1 green chilli, any remaining marinade and 1 tsp. tandoori masala. Blend, then cook this gravy until it is thick. Use it as a sauce when serving your chicken.
Enjoy with roast potatoes or masala chips!
assalamalikum fauzia…I
assalamalikum fauzia…I wanna make 3 of these . roast whole chickens….any tips on how to keep them warm and with crispy skin as u know one will fit at a time in these standard size TIA…
W/Salaam, it would be a bit
W/Salaam, it would be a bit tricky to get them all crispy if cooked one after the other. Maybe what you can do once all are done, brush them with melted butter and stick them all in a very hot oven for a little while and see if that will help.
I want to make this with
I want to make this with chicken pieces. I just wanted to know if I still needed to add one whole cup of water? If I’m not using a rack?
Please check my cut-up roast
Please check my cut-up roast chicken recipe and use those directions to roast the chicken pieces.
in your instruction u said
in your instruction u said all ingredients blend in a paste ..n apply on chicken so should i blend onion too or only onion use in the roasting dish.
Yes include the onion with
Yes include the onion with the rest of the ingredients to blend. The one used in the roasting dish is separate and optional. 🙂
I tried this recipe and my family loved it, it was so delicious thank you Fauzia!!