This recipe is an Asian take on a traditional roast chicken and an especially easy way to introduce spices and new world flavours to a young family. It is also ridiculously easy and although using fairly strong spices, the slow roasting mellows the flavours deliciously. I like to use a whole chicken in this recipe, simply for ease of preparation, but this can be easily adapted to chicken thighs.

The quantity of marinade paste is especially generous and I’ve done this purposely to ensure that the flavours really do seep deep into the chicken resulting in a mouth melting tender roast… mmm, definitely one to share with friends.

Serves 4

  • 1 medium whole chicken, preferably corn fed for better flavour
  • For the marinade;
  • 3 Tbs of soft salted butter
  • 1 tsp of cumin powder
  • 1 tsp of coriander powder
  • 1 tsp of tamarind paste
  • 1 tbs of sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 tsp of ground ginger
  • 1 tsp of freshly chopped garlic
  • 1 tbs of soy sauce
  • 1 tbs of dark molasses
  • 1 whole orange, roughly chopped into segments
  • To finish off dish;
  • 2 tbs sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 curry leaves
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup of finely chopped coriander

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  • Preheat the oven to 220
  • Mix all the ingredients for the marinade, combining well.
  • This is a great way of getting the intensity of the flavours deep into the meat, creating a mouthful of rich deliciousness. With your fingers or a chopstick for the less hands on approach, separate the skin off the breast of the chicken without tearing or completely removing the skin, so that you are able to slide spoonfuls of the marinade through the opening and spread liberally across the breast meat and pushing through to the legs. This means the marinade is sealed under the skin and sitting directly on the meat.
  • Spread a generous amount of the marinade over the skin
  • Place the orange segments in the chicken cavity
  • Place in an oven roasting dish, and open roast on the high heat until the skin takes on a pale golden colour, this will take perhaps 5 – 7minutes. Then cover tightly with foil, reduce the temperature to 180 and roast for a further 40 minutes, or when, a knife is pierced through the leg joint and the juices run clear.
  • Once ready, and with all meats roasted in the oven let it rest for 15 minutes before finishing off the dish before serving.
  • To finish: Heat the sunflower oil in a small saucepan until hot but not burning. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, salt and chopped coriander. Fry quickly until you can hear the mustard seeds popping. Once this happens, pour this crispy gremolata over the chicken and serve immediately.

 

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