Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Tandoori Roast Chicken

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Tandoori Roast Chicken

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…
Servings 5 people

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!

Join the Conversation

  1. Jazakallah Sista !! I tried most of ur recipes dy r simply amazing Allah bless u.

    Pls help me.knw if ds chicken can b cooked without oven just like Roast chicken Charga ??? awaiting ur reply

    1. Have not tried to cook this recipe in the charga method, but you can give it a try if you like.

    1. Buy that ready-made from the supermarkets or grocery stores. Concentrated tomato in paste form, comes in jars or bottles or tubes.

  2. Lovely recipes that an average cook like me can also prepare. I don’t have
    Roasting rack, wat should I do. Also do we have to foil wrAp the chicken
    While baking

  3. You can make it without a rack or see if there is anything else you can use to help lift the chicken slightly so any drippings fall down.

  4. AOA
    I have tried most of your recipies,i wanna try this 1 but i have 1 question do i have to open the twine or thread before putting in a oven ?
    thanks

    1. W/Salaam, no you will cut the twine before serving after the chicken is baked and ready.

  5. oooh looks divine cant wait to try it out n serve with mash potatoes n some gooody stir fried veggies,,

  6. Aoa fauzia i tried this
    Aoa fauzia i tried this recipe it was great but i had a problem, when chicken was ready its skin was very crispy n looking good but after resting 10 min it became very soft n sogy. Can u plz tell me what to do to keep skin crispy? Do u also have recipe of rusmalai in ur page because i could’nt find it?

    1. W/Salaam, could be that the
      W/Salaam, could be that the place the chicken was kept was humid and it sweated into itself. Did you leave the chicken covered for too long? Try serving it straight from the oven next time and see if that helps. Sorry no rasmalai recipe yet.

  7. I was just wondering when you
    I was just wondering when you purchase the whole chicken from the store/butchers, does it require to be cleaned or anything removed from inside? Or do you just go ahead and use the chicken as you purchased it? Thanks

    1. Normally the butcher cleans
      Normally the butcher cleans the chicken for me. And removes the skin if I want a skinless chicken.

  8. Asalm can we make dis dish in
    Asalm can we make dis dish in microwave
    .n if we r baking it in oven can we jst keep
    It in tray insteaf of roasting rack.becoz my
    Oven doesnt hav one.
    Thnks.

    1. W/Salaam, sorry but I never
      W/Salaam, sorry but I never use the microwave for cooking so am not sure how the temp/time will be.

  9. Assalam
    Assalam

    Can this be done with chicken cut into pieces? If yes, do I need to have the roasting rack?

    Thanks

    Shameema

    1. W/Salaam, yes you can and no
      W/Salaam, yes you can and no need to use a roasting rack.

  10. Salam Fauzia. Last time I
    Salam Fauzia. Last time I made charga but the flavours couldn’t get into the whole chicken. Shall I pork the chicken with a fork few times or use chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken? Or any other advice you can give me plz.

    1. W/Salaam, yes you can poke
      W/Salaam, yes you can poke some holes or make some slits in the chicken although you risk losing a lot of moisture from the chicken that way. Did you marinate it long enough?

  11. assalamualaiukum sis, what
    assalamualaiukum sis, what should i do if tandoori masala is not available? any options? please let me know. your kind answer will be highly appreciated. thank you.

    1. W/Salaam, add an extra pinch
      W/Salaam, add an extra pinch of colour and a bit of paprika powder if you have it. Although tandoori powder is available in just about any supermarket in the spices isles these days if you want the extra added flavour it will bring to the dish.

  12. Aoa, I tried this recipe.
    Aoa, I tried this recipe. This was really really good. Although i tried it without skin bus still it turned out to be very soft and juicy. Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
    I have one question. The marinade mixture inside the cavity remained as it is. It didnt cook. Can you please help me with this? Thanks in advance 🙂

    1. Thanks for the lovely
      Thanks for the lovely feedback. Not sure why it did not cook in the cavity, did you cook the chicken long enough?

  13. Can I use the same method and
    Can I use the same method and bake the chicken rotisserie style? If so, how will it differ from using a roasting rack? Thank you!

    1. You can although since I
      You can although since I personally never use a rotisserie I am not sure how the roasting time and temp will differ, sorry.

  14. Salam fauzia. Plz tell me if
    Salam fauzia. Plz tell me if I can use the same recipe for roasting a turkey(full)?it weigh about 4 kg. Awaiting ur reply

    1. W/Salaam, yes the same recipe
      W/Salaam, yes the same recipe will work, increase the amounts of the ingredients to accommodate the size of the turkey. Also the time for cooking will increase.

  15. Thank you so much for so
    Thank you so much for so quick reply. I have just placed my turkey in oven. Will follow ur instructions. One more question is that on the turkey package they said to foil wrap the turkey loosely during cooking. What should I do?

    1. That’s just to make sure the
      That’s just to make sure the turkey doesn’t burn on the outside before the inside is fully cooked as the bird is bigger than an average chicken and takes longer, you can drape a piece of foil over it…totally ok.

  16. 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…

    1. 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.

  17. 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?

    1. Please check my cut-up roast
      Please check my cut-up roast chicken recipe and use those directions to roast the chicken pieces.

  18. 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.

    1. 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. 🙂

  19. I tried this recipe and my family loved it, it was so delicious thank you Fauzia!!

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