Roasted Spicy Chicken

Introduction

This spectacular dish is easy enough to do – mix spices with garlic and yoghurt, rub the paste over a chicken, and refrigerate for 24 hours. And that’s where the magic is created. The spices permeate the chicken flesh and the salt and yoghurt tenderise it. The result after roasting is a gorgeous aromatic and golden, succulent chicken.
Serve with something tangy and fresh, like Kachumbar, and rice or naan bread.

Serves: 6 or more

Ingredients

3 Tbsp thick yoghurt
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp each ground turmeric and ground cumin
12 whole cardamoms, split open, seeds extracted and husks discarded
¼ tsp each ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground mace
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1½ tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 free range chicken, size 14 (1.4 kg / 3 lb)
3 Tbsp oil or ghee
1-2 cups chicken stock

Method

1 Mix the yoghurt, spices, salt and garlic in a bowl big enough to hold the chicken. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, then use a rubber spatula to smear a little yoghurt paste mixture around the inside cavity of the chicken. Tie a piece of string around the parson’s nose, then tie the legs together then bring the string around the sides of the chicken pinning the wings in place, pull string tight, then bring string back to the parson’s nose and tie it in a tight bow.Put the chicken in the bowl and smear the rest of the spice paste over the skin. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (or for at least 4 hours).

2 Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Bring the chicken to room temperature before cooking. Put the oil or ghee in a small roasting tin and put in the chicken, breast up; pour over any juices. Add half a cup of chicken stock. Cook chicken for about 1½ hours, turning it over on its breast for about 20 minutes halfway through cooking. Take care not to let the yoghurt and spices catch on the bottom of the tray – scrape them up from time to time and add more stock as required. If the chicken skin threatens to burn, lower the heat.

3 Pierce through the thickest part of the thigh to check the juices are clear and not tinged with pink (if pink, allow another 15 minutes cooking time). Transfer to a carving board and rest the chicken for up to 30 minutes, covered loosely with aluminium foil if preferred and a food umbrella. Carve into joints and serve with a selection of the following: steamed rice, coconut rice, freshly made chutneys or sambals, yoghurt, warmed naan bread and stir-fried vegetables.

Recipe Notes

See How To Carve A Chicken. And, although not totally applicable to this recipe, it is worth reading about choosing the right sized dish for roasting a chicken.

The size of the roasting tin is important when roasting a chicken. If it is too big, the juices will evaporate too quickly as they are spread over a wider surface, and the gorgeous ‘goo’ which forms can scorch and burn ruining the chance of making a tasty jus. If the dish is too small, it makes basting the chicken difficult, and also turning it over during cooking is likely to result in stock splashing everywhere. The juices (stock or water and chicken juices) will not evaporate quickly enough for goo to form if the chicken is tightly packed in a dish. Choose a tin with enough room to easily turn the chicken during cooking.

The aim is to provide a little steam to keep the chicken tender during cooking, but not flood the dish so the chicken is swimming in water. Keep it moist during cooking and scrape up any sticky goo that forms in the tin and mix it in with the liquid.

And, you can read up on all the spices here: Cardamom Turmeric Mace Cinnamon