Happy New year (like two weeks ago…)!! With a new year comes new recipes!! I’m so excited to share so many new recipes this year😁 Whether they’re new to me or new to you. To start off the big 2020 I thought I would share a recipe for a full roasted Masala Chicken. Full roasted chickens are not a very typical Pakistani recipe, we’re more likely to cook chicken in smaller pieces, but I thought this would be an adequate effort to combine American and Pakistani cuisines. A very typical American roast dinner with the flavors of Pakistan. I know, pretty crazy up in here with our fusion cuisine. Listen, I’m just keeping it real.
Ingredients:
- 2-4 pounds whole chicken
- 2 pounds assorted baby potatoes, cut if large
- 1 pound carrots, washed, peeled
- 1/4 cup Plain Yogurt
- 3 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1 tablespoons coriander powder
- 1 tablespoons Pakistani/Indian red chili powder
- 1-2 teaspoons Shan Chicken Tikka Masala or meat tenderizer
- 2 teaspoons Garlic-Ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon green chutney
- Lemon Juice of one lemon
- Salt, to taste
- Whole Lemon (optional)
- Olive Oil
- 3-5 sprigs of rosemary
Directions:
Making a roast dinner isn’t actually too difficult. I was a little afraid to take on such a daunting task but it turned out to be pretty fun and I learned a lot, plus you can customize flavors so easily. First things first, preheat your oven to 425 F. I originally roasted mine at 350F but I quickly learned this was not high enough when I took it out and it was still raw, hahaha. Not great to serve at the dinner table. After doing a little more research on the interwebs, 425 F seems like a much more suitable temperature. While the oven preheats you can move onto the chicken. For the chicken combine the yogurt, spices, salt (to taste), garlic-ginger paste, green chutney, and lemon juice. We happened to have some green chutney already made but if you can definitely buy it in stores to if you don’t have any made. Score the chicken with a sharp knife and then lather the mixture on, making sure to cover every inch of the chicken. Already looking delicious…well okay it still looks raw but it’s starting to smell pretty good. Then I let it marinate in the fridge for half an hour.
Now onto the vegetables! You can honestly roast any vegetables along with the chicken I chose baby potatoes and carrots because potatoes are great and carrot seem to be a staple in a roast…I thought it was a good enough reason. The vegetables were easy, I put them in a bowl and first drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled on some cumin powder, chile powder, and some salt. I did this for both the carrots and potatoes. Once the chicken was done marinating I placed it in a long oven-safe (obviously lol) dish and placed the carrots and potatoes around them. Ordinarily, people tie the chicken legs together but I didn’t have any of that fancy, heat resistant kitchen twine so I did what any good cook does. Just ignored it. I still had roast chicken afterwards so I’m fairly certain it didn’t make much of a difference.
For some extra care I added a few sprigs of rosemary around and on top of chicken. And I stuffed the chicken with the lemons I had previously squeezed. Lastly, I drizzled the chicken with olive oil and rub it into the chicken. Then, I just put it in the oven and guess what? You have basically made a roast chicken!! Well, okay you have to wait an hour and 20 minutes (or until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and thigh) and every half hour baste the chicken. Basting just means pouring the chicken juices back on the chicken every half hour in the cooking process. Saying chicken juices makes it sound not very appetizing…I’m sure a better definition exists but I’m just gonna use this because it gets the point across. After all this the chicken is ready to come out of the oven and then!!! you have to let it sit for 20 minutes covered. But then!!! you can eat it!!! Now that…was worth the wait 😃
Stay tuned for next week when I share my garlic mashed potatoes recipe that goes great with any roast dinner 😉
Roasted Masala Chicken
Ingredients
- 2-4 pounds whole chicken
- 2 pounds assorted baby potatoes halved if large
- 1 pound carrots washed, peeled
- ¼ cup Plain Yogurt
- 3 tablespoons cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon Pakistani/Indian red chili powder
- 1-2 teaspoons Shan Chicken Tikka Masala or meat tenderizer
- 2 teaspoons Garlic-Ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon green chutney
- Lemon Juice of one lemon
- Salt to taste
- Whole Lemon (optional)
- Olive Oil
- 3-5 sprigs of rosemary
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the ingredients for coating chicken. This is the yogurt, spices, salt (to taste), garlic-ginger paste, green chutney, and lemon juice. Green chutney can be homemade or store bought.
- Score the chicken with sharp knife on both sides.
- Lather the mixture onto the chicken making sure to thoroughly cover every corner.
- Allow this to marinate in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- While chicken marinates prepare vegetables to be roasted alongside chicken. Peel the carrots and halve any large potatoes.
- Place the vegetables in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, cumin powder, and red chili powder and mix thoroughly coating all over the vegetables.
- Once the chicken marinates take it out of the fridge and put it (breast-side up) in an oven-safe dish or roasting pan.
- Surround it with potatoes and carrots and stuff with the lemon you juiced earlier. Optionally add a few sprigs of rosemary on top of the chicken.
- Lastly drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub into it thoroughly.
- Place the chicken into 425°F preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes (or until juices run clear between leg and thigh) basting every half hour.
- Once chicken is done take it out of the oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
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